Leopard King
by Dragon eye21
Summary: Harry returns from his first shopping trip with Hagrid only to be met with the worst beating of his life. With the help of magic and familiars, Harry flees to Hogwarts where he is not only introduced to the world of magic but wonders beyond his imagining.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Harry Potter sat huddled in his cupboard under the stairs, shivering in fear and pain. Hagrid had just dropped him off back at his Aunt and Uncle's house. Upon entering, his uncle had tossed him into his cupboard with such force that three of his ribs had cracked, along with his left harm. Vernon had then proceeded to take all of the items Harry and Hagrid had purchased in Diagon Alley out back and promptly burned everything. Harry couldn't see, of course, but he heard the telltale crackling of a fire coming through the kitchen and he had seen his Aunt wander out back with his trunk. It was because of that, that Harry was glad he had the foresight to send Hedwig off to wait for him at Hogwarts and to hide his wand on him rather than leave it in his trunk.

Around two in the morning, when all was silent in the house and on the street, Harry woke from the light doze he had fallen into. He was in too much pain for him to fall fully asleep. His mind wandered over to what his supposed relatives had done, simply because they had been afraid of magic. It made Harry fearful of how worse their treatment of him might become, especially now that he was aware of his heritage. Their treatment of him in the past had been reprehensible at best and he shuddered to think of what it would become.

Hoping his uncle had yet to nail the door shut, Harry came to a decision and picked up the metal loop he used to open the lock from the inside so he could sneak out at night and steal unnoticeable food from the kitchen. It took some doing with his damaged wrist but he eventually (and gratefully) managed to flip open the lock and push the door open with a nearly inaudible squeak. He took a cautious step forward before lurching back with a painful hiss. He looked down to see a spectacular bruise forming on his right ankle. Thankfully it wasn't broken, he had broken enough bones in his life to be able to tell, but it was sprained, which would make walking difficult.

Thinking quickly, Harry tried to decide how to proceed. He would not stay, that much was certain, but with a sprained ankle he would be slow going and lucky to make it out of the neighborhood before sunrise and his family noticed. With an idea popping into his brain, Harry quickly closed his eyes and attempted to do something that had only ever happened by accident and on very rare occasions. He felt his body shift and twitch and he opened his eyes to see everything in a much sharper resolution than it normally was and from a much lower angle. He looked down to see lightly tanned and very furry paws with black spots in place of his fleshy hands. Harry had never figured out how he had managed to turn into this strange animal, which resembled a snow leopard but with white leathery wings, but right now he didn't care, though he knew magic was involved.

Grinning in a rather feline way, Harry limped forward and made towards the back door. Petunia had a tendency to leave it open a crack in the summer to vent the hot air, even at night. Thankfully she had done so tonight as well. It was a tight fit, especially with the wings, but Harry managed to slip through the door and into the back yard. He paused when his eyes noticed the large pile of ash in the middle of the yard. His heart plummeting at that sight, Harry limped over and started gently pawing at the ashes, hoping to find some salvageable remnants of his things. Sadly, there was not even a stray quill or piece of parchment. Nothing had escaped the inferno. Vernon had even burned the trunk.

The sound of feathers and a soft hoot drew Harry's attention and he looked up to see Hedwig perched on the fence, staring at him with a mournful expression. Harry made a mewling sound that was both happy and confused. He had expressly told Hedwig to go ahead and wait for him at Hogwarts. He knew she was just a bird but he knew she had understood him since he had received a dissatisfied hoot before she took off into the darkening sky. He had to now wonder why she was here and had not listened to him.

"I saw the smoke." Hedwig said in answer to his confused mew. Harry started badly, not expecting the voice and looked around in fear, thinking someone had found him, namely his relatives. "You should not stay here." That time, Harry heard the slight clicking of a beak and an underlying hoot that accompanied the voice. He looked back to Hedwig in amazement. "Most animals understand one another. Because of who you are, you will understand more than most." She said in response to amazed look.

"Who am I?" Harry tried to question. All he heard was mewling and growling noises. The owl seemed to be highly amused by his question.

"I will teach you how to respond to us in time," Hedwig said, revealing the source of her amusement. It wasn't the question but the simple fact that he had actually not said anything. "For now, let me guide you from here so you may rest and heal in safety."

Over the next several minutes Hedwig coached Harry through the process of controlling his wings and learning how to synchronize them for flight. It wasn't exactly what one would call easy and it was definitely strange for someone who was used to not having wings at all, but Harry learned fast and soon had it down pat. Hedwig then showed him how to launch himself into the air. This was the most difficult for Harry since he had two injured limbs and several broken or cracked ribs. He managed to make it a few feet into the air the first time he tried it but he was not fast enough with his second down stroke of his wings so he ended up stumbling back to the ground, jarring his injuries painfully.

"Be quicker this time," Hedwig coached gently. "You should already be in the process of raising your wings just as they finish coming down."

Harry's second try was much more successful and he managed to rise well above the house. Hedwig quickly joined him and started leading him away from Privet Drive and simultaneously teaching him how to read the air currents and how to use his tail as a rudder so he could glide more effectively and fly longer than he was currently able to his lack of experience and strength, not to mention his injuries. Hedwig's instruction was superb and Harry was quickly becoming comfortable up in the sky and more confident in his abilities.

After a while, the two flew in silence. Hedwig led the way north, away from Surry and London both. Occasionally Harry would glance down and see the bright lights of a bustling city and occasionally he would see nothing but the dark expanses of farm land, his now exceptional eyesight allowing him to see the segregation of fields. The closer they came to the outskirts of London the fewer fields there were and more towns and cities popped up, making Harry feel as if he was flying over a starry sky rather than under, though after a moment's thought he figured he was technically doing both.

Just as the sun was beginning to make itself known, Hedwig directed Harry down to a secluded expanse of trees that was a safe distance from towns and farms. They both landed on the thickest branch they could find and though Harry would have preferred to sleep somewhere much more stable he did not complain and did his best to get comfortable, which wasn't easy given his ribs. With a soft mew in gratitude to Hedwig, Harry promptly fell asleep, his sharp claws digging into the branch under his head. Hedwig looked affectionately at the leopard cub before tucking her head under her wing and following suit and going to sleep.

–Scene Break–

"Ah, Hagrid," Dumbledore's voice sounded as the half giant made his way into the great hall that evening for dinner. "I trust your trip went well?"

"Aye," Hagrid said with a nod of his head as he sat down at the Head Table, looking at the few other faces that were present. All the Head of Houses were there, preparing for the upcoming school year but most of the teachers were absent, with the exception of Trelawney and a few others. "Li'l 'Arry was very polite and kind. Don't think I ever met a more properly behaved kid in my life."

"Well that is good to hear." Dumbledore said with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. "He has been raised properly then."

"It would appear that way Headmaster," Hagrid said with a nod. A frown crossed his face before he continued. "Though, things got a little odd when I dropped him off."

"How so?" McGonagall asked, her concern and curiosity piqued.

"Well," Hagrid said hesitantly, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts. "He appeared hesitant to return home and before he went inside he took his owl that I got him fer his birthday out of its cage and sent her off, like he didn't want her in the house."

"Perhaps his relatives simply do not allow pets in the house." Pomona Sprout suggested with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I find that hard to believe," Snape said in his usual snapping drawl that was dripping with scorn and derision. It was what many of the professor's had come to view as his Potter Voice since he reserved it only for when he was speaking about Harry Potter. It had picked up quite a lot this summer and the staff was quickly getting annoyed with the Potions Master. "The boy is no doubt as spoiled as his father was and likely did not care much about the bird."

"Then why did he appear afraid to enter the house?" Hagrid questioned in challenge, a glare contorting his usually kind and jovial features. "The boy practically had to force himself to open the door."

"Are you certain he was scared Hagrid?" Dumbledore questioned, a lump of lead appearing in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes," Hagrid said definitively, turning his annoyed glare from the silenced Professor and looked to the Headmaster, concern evident on both their faces. "After the war, I know how to recognize fear."

"I told you something was off with those muggles," McGonagall said in a slight hiss as she turned to look at Dumbledore. "We should send someone to check on the boy Albus."

"Let us not jump to conclusions now," Dumbledore said giving his deputy a calm look and raised a placating hand. "I'm sure that if something was truly amiss then Arabella would have informed us long before now. I shall floo her in the morning and ask her to check on young Mr. Potter to see if everything is alright."

McGonagall sat back in her chair, unhappy but pacified for the time being.

–Scene Break–

Harry woke up late in the evening the day after he ran from the Dursley's to a strange but lovely smell filling his nostrils. He opened his groggy eyes to see what smelled so nice. At first his sleep ridden brain could not process what he was seeing since all he saw was red. Picking his head up and blinking in confusion, Harry tried again and looked down to see a rosy red apple balancing precariously on the branch in front of him, right in front of where his nose had been moments before. There were tiny claw marks piercing the rosy flesh.

"I did not think you would appreciate a mouse," Hedwig's voice sounded softly from above him. He looked up to see the snowy owl perched on a branch a few feet away, the remains of a mouse in her claw ready to be devoured by the bird. Hedwig shifted one of her wings and pointed back towards his branch. He looked to see a small bundle of grapes caught in the crook of two adjoining branches. Harry mewled in thanks before leaning forward and gently digging his teeth into the apple. "If you are able, when you are finished, we should continue our flight."

Harry made a noise of agreement around the apple in his mouth, causing the owl to chuckle. It took Harry a little while to figure out how to consume the apple without dropping it but eventually he managed with a little aid from his good front paw. The grapes were surprisingly easier than the apple since he simply had to use his tongue to pull the grapes off the vine before squishing them in his mouth. When he finished Harry stood, balancing on his two good limbs and indicating he was ready to continue to Hedwig, who had been contentedly digesting her food. They took flight and continued north. Harry's injuries throbbed painfully but he ignored them easily enough

The days repeated thusly. Harry and Hedwig would fly from dusk and through the night before finding a safe place to rest an hour or so before dawn. Harry would usually awaken to find various different fruits in front of his face, courtesy of Hedwig. A rare few times he would awake to nothing because there were not any edible plants or fruit baring trees in the near vicinity. Harry hardly minded since it was more generosity than he had ever been shown back at his relatives and the owl had already done more for him than the Dursley's ever had.

Finally, when they had been travelling for almost a full week, their destination was in sight. The castle that was Hogwarts rose beautifully in the distance, its towers and spires portraying an elegance that few would ever really understand. Harry's heart skipped a beat when he first saw it and he could scarcely believe his eyes. He had not known where Hedwig had been leading him; he never bothered to ask since almost anywhere would be better than where he had been. Now, he was eternally grateful for his snowy companion since he knew he would be safe here.

"Let us rest for a few hours before finishing the trek." Hedwig counseled as she angled towards a rocky hillside a few miles south of the castle. "It would be better that we reach the castle in the daylight hours so you may receive proper medical attention."

Harry, who had been growing more and more tired, did not argue and settled on a flat expanse of rock, grateful to be able to stretch out finally.

–Scene Break–

"What are we going to do Albus?" Minerva said in agitation as she paced around his office, looking more like a caged lion than the simple cat that was her animagus form. She, Hagrid, and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, with the exception of Quirrell for some strange reason, and a few Order members were all crowded in his office to discuss the fact that Harry Potter was missing. No one noticed the snowy white owl that glided in on silent wings and perched on Fawkes' perch right next to the firebird, who had been dozing, or the strange snow leopard that alighted on the windowsill. "Harry Potter has been missing for almost a week. It's too dangerous for him to wander out there alone."

"I agree Minerva," Dumbledore said heavily as he ran a weary hand over his aged face. "Severus, do you have anything to report from your discussion with Mr. Potter's relatives?"

"Other than the urge to hex them into tiny pieces," Severus practically growled with a dark look on his face. "I have learned that Mr. Potter's residence with them has been… less than savory." He paused and appeared as if he had to force the words from his mouth. "They rambled on for a solid ten minutes about how they had suffered for the past ten years, putting up with, as they put it, 'that freakish boy.' Not once did they use Mr. Potter's name. When they started to give me a headache I petrified them and started poking around the house for any evidence."

"Severus." Dumbledore chastised but Severus ignored him and continued reporting.

"I went upstairs, thinking to find Mr. Potter's room to see what he may or may not have taken with him and for indications of what his life has been like." Severus said, his expression clearly stating that his findings had been entirely unpleasant. Harry, who was sitting on the windowsill, shamelessly eavesdropped on the people before him (it's not like he was hiding or anything); curious as to why they were making such a fuss over him. He knew he was famous but this seemed a bit much. "I found their son's bedroom with ease as its stench was nearly overwhelming." Harry had to stop himself from snickering. He agreed whole heartedly with that sentient. "They had a guest bedroom that appeared entirely untouched and a room devoted solely to at least a hundred different broken toys."

"What of Harry's room?" Minerva questioned, dread filling her heart.

"Near as I can tell without actually pulling the information from those… muggles." Severus quite obviously had to restrain himself from using less savory words to describe Harry's relatives. Harry wondered why when he had called them a few choice words himself a few times. Privately of course. "Mr. Potter's bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs." Several gasps sounded throughout the room. Severus waited for that to settle in before continuing. "As for where Mr. Potter might have gone, I found no trace of him actually leaving the house. There was a large burn mark out back where there appeared to have been a large fire. Upon seeing that I dosed them with Veritaserum to see if they had the gall to actually kill the boy. Thankfully, they did not. They merely burned all of the stuff he had purchased with Hagrid. Aside from their obvious abuse, the muggles had nothing to do with the boy's disappearance."

"Did you find any magical signatures that would indicate a magical mode of transportation from the house?" Dumbledore asked, pushing aside the issue of the abuse for the time being. Severus shook his head in the negative. "He cannot simply have vanished. Even if he simply walked from the house a simple tracking charm should have been able to locate him."

At that moment and before anyone could reply to that, Fawkes let out a chirp to get everyone's attention. They all looked towards the phoenix and stared in mild surprise to see a snowy owl, which appeared to be asleep, sitting on the perch as well. Hagrid obviously recognized the owl but thought nothing of it since he knew Harry had sent his owl away. Then Fawkes chirped again and pointed towards the window with his wing. Everyone followed the gesture and looked towards the indicated window. They all stared in surprise at the snow leopard sitting so quaintly on the sill as if he belonged there. The way he held up his left paw clearly indicated its wound.

Harry felt a little disconcerted being the sudden attention of everyone in the room, though he gathered that it would have happened sooner or later. Still, in the past, being the center of attention usually meant a lot of pain for Harry and he instinctively leaned away from all the stares.

"How on earth did a snow leopard get all the way up here?" Minerva questioned in shock, not noticing the wings that were held tightly to Harry's back. "Particularly a cub with an injured paw? For that matter, what is it doing in England in the first place? They're native to Asia."

"I do believe that this is no ordinary snow leopard." Dumbledore said as he examined the cat with a twinkling eye over his half-moon spectacles. Harry didn't like that look and flattened his ears against his head. He nearly let out a hiss but managed to restrain himself. "He appears to have wings. My guess is that he is magical, though I've never heard of such a magical creature before. Hagrid?"

"I've not either Professor," Hagrid said as he calmly stood up and started approaching the window. Relieved it was Hagrid who decided to approach him first, Harry relaxed a little and let out a little pain filled mew. "However, I'm no expert on the subject and only know most of popular species like those taught here. Easy now," he urged gently as he held out one of his oversized hands and allowed the cub to limp into his arms. Hagrid stroked him gently along the side but jerked his hand back when Harry jerked and yelped in pain. "Madam Pomfrey, would ye care to cast a few spells for me? He appears to have more than just his leg broken."

"I'm not sure if any of my healing spells would work on a magical creature," Pomfrey said even though she stood up and went over to Hagrid's side.

"No problem," Hagrid said as he carefully stroked the snow leopard along his spine, causing Harry to purr contentedly. "A simple diagnostic charm should easily reveal all the problems and I know of a spell that will work on any broken bones."

Pomfrey nodded and cast a diagnostic charm as instructed. After that it was quick work for her to repair most of Harry's injuries. Harry went limp in relief as the majority of his pain vanished entirely and he simply could not stop purring as a result. The issue of his weight would take time and proper meals to correct. His sprained ankle, while mostly healed, would still be tender for several more days and the repaired bones would be a little fragile for a few weeks since the spell used to repair them was mild and meant for infants who could not healthily withstand the harsh magic of the more aggressive healing spells.

"What should we do with him?" Pomona questioned as she looked at the adorable cub in Hagrid's arms.

"He is just a cub," Dumbledore said with a slight smile on his face. "And he appears to be friendly enough. I see no reason why he cannot stay on the grounds or even in the castle. He appears to have lost his family so I doubt he has need to be returned anywhere."

"Just what we need." Severus remarked dryly and with a hint of contempt in his voice. "Another brat running around the halls." Everyone laughed when the leopard's eyes snapped open and he growled defiantly at the Potions Master.

"He'd need a name then," Hagrid said. No one noticed how Severus had stiffened when he locked eyes with the animal or they chose to assume that it was a simple reaction to the growl rather than anything else. "How about Norbert?" This time it was Hagrid who received a narrow eyed growl from the snow leopard.

"I think it's obvious what he thinks of that name," Severus said amusement thick in his voice. "Perhaps he would prefer Namir." A squeak of interest came from the snow leopard. "Israeli for leopard."

"An interesting name Severus," Dumbledore commented, his smile growing a little bit. "Though he appears to like it."

It was an accurate assessment since Harry had gone back to purring contentedly as Hagrid continued stroking his spine and had not argued against the name. He sighed though and stopped purring. Figuring it was time that he told everyone who he really was, Harry stood up in Hagrid's arms and started thinking about how to turn back into himself.

"Don't youngling," a musical chirp sounded, drawing everyone's attention and breaking Harry's focus. "Remain as you are for now. You will be safer longer and will give us more time to teach you things you must know." Harry made a slight sound of protest and concern. He did not particularly enjoy the thought of what would happen when he finally changed back and revealed himself. "Do not fear for their reactions. I will prepare my human when the time comes for you to return to your normal shape. He will handle it from there." The firebird paused before adding, "I am Fawkes by the way."

"Why don't you take little Namir down to your hut Hagrid and feed him," Dumbledore said when the conversation between bird and feline ended and Harry's stomach growled rather loudly.

"Why not simply take him to the kitchens?" Severus suggested in a rather bored voice as he leaned up against a shadowed wall. "Certainly the house elves would provide an appropriate meal for him, especially if Hagrid dictates what to feed him. They are quite capable little creatures."

"That'll save me a fair walk Professor," Hagrid said with a nod as he turned to leave. Hedwig gave a slight hoot before gliding off the perch and landing on Hagrid's shoulder. No one, with the exception of Severus, thought such an action worthy of note.

"Back to Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said when Hagrid left.

"I will continue searching Headmaster but unless something turns up before the start of term I'm afraid there is not much we can do." Severus said, hiding his true thoughts and feelings on the matter. No one would believe his suspicions anyways and he would need time to prove his theory before anything. "Hopefully, he will either turn up before or show with the rest of the students."

"Sadly that is the situation," Dumbledore sighed heavily, looking more his age now than ever before. "The new term is rapidly approaching and we must prepare for it. I ask that if any of you have spare time over the next few weeks to devote some of it to searching for Mr. Potter."

The others nodded in agreement before filing out of the office.

–Scene Break–

Harry sat on top of one of the tables contentedly eating the food that the elves had provided him. Thankfully, Hagrid was more enamored with his presence than anything else so he did not notice that the elves had given him human food rather than the raw food Hagrid had requested. Harry especially enjoyed the roasted lamb they had provided. He had never had such food before and he found it simply divine. Hedwig was perched on the table next to him eating and drinking from the food and water the elves had given her.

"Wha' happened to ye li'l one?" Hagrid questioned sorrowfully when Harry was finished with his food and was busy cleaning his paws from the grease of his food. Since he couldn't answer, Harry ignored the question. "Well, come on. We should find ye a nice place to stay. Dinner is not for some hours yet and I've got things to tend to."

Harry chirped and jumped off the table and trotted towards the door, his tail swishing slightly in enjoyment. Hagrid chuckled in slight amusement as he got up and left the kitchens with Harry padding along silently next to him. They moved through the halls and up the stairs to ground level. They passed by a lovely courtyard that Harry felt very tempted to go lay out in the middle of the grass in the lovely sun light that was shining down and warming the grass and castle alike. They continued on, though, and Harry vowed to come back to the court yard to enjoy the beautiful day.

"Excuse me Professor," Hagrid said as he entered an office that had its door open, encouraging a nice breeze to drift through. "I have to go into the forest and tend to the herds and was wondering if ye would watch li'l Namir."

"I'd be glad to Hagrid," Minerva answered as she looked down at Harry with a kind smile on her face, even as he yawned. "Especially since he seems ready to take a nap."

Harry squeaked indignantly even as he made to curl up in the middle of the sun patch that shone in through the window. The adults chuckled and Hagrid left, leaving him with the lady the old man had called Minerva in his office. Harry liked her since she smelled like cats. While Mrs. Figg had a ridiculous abundance of cats in Harry's opinion, cats in general and her cats specifically had always been nice to him so he knew the lady, despite her stern demeanor, could be trusted. As such, it took no time at all for Harry to relax into a warm and light sleep, Hedwig perched silently on a bookshelf next to the window. For some reason, no one bothered to note how the owl seemed to follow the leopard cub around.

Sometime later, a few hours judging by the change in the sun's position, Harry's ears perked up as they picked up footsteps sounding outside the room. A light stinging prickled along his forehead but it quickly grew stronger the closer the footsteps became. Harry stood up with a growl and backed up away from the door, his instincts dominating his mind. His fur stood on end and he ignored Minerva's curious stare and questions. Finally, a man wearing a turban came around the corner and Harry's forehead erupted into full blown pain. Harry veritably freaked out. He hissed in fear, pain, and warning before fleeing through the window and taking to the skies.

Harry circled a few times before angling towards the tower he recognized from his first approach and glided in through the window, which opened of its own accord. Not bothering to take note of the rooms startled occupants, Harry landed and made a dash to the desk the old man sat behind and huddled underneath it. He saw the man with the long white beard's legs and shadows of someone else in the room, along with voices to accompany both but he ignored them in favor of pawing at his forehead, trying to get the residual pain to go away.

"Changeling?" A musical voice sounded. Harry looked up to see the pretty red from earlier that had introduced himself as Fawkes poking his head upside down from the top of the desk. "What happened?"

"Bad man," Harry said, forgetting that Hedwig had not taught him how to communicate with other animals yet. Fortunately that was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment so he continued speaking. "Made my head hurt."

"Who was this man?" Fawkes chirped in concern. "And where?" When Harry hesitated to reply Fawkes added, "If there is someone dangerous on the grounds, my human needs to know."

"He was wearing a turban," Harry said eventually after pawing at his forehead once again. "And was entering cat lady's office."

"And by cat lady you mean Minerva yes?" Fawkes asked to clarify. Harry nodded, recognizing the name Fawkes' human had used to describe the lady.

Fawkes' head disappeared back above the desk and a series of chirps and musical notes sounded. Harry understood them as English but he knew Fawkes was attempting to communicate with his human and had to wonder how they could understand one another since the old man was human and not another animal. The man Harry had run from was apparently a Professor named Quirrell. After a moment of thought Harry recalled the name of the man he had met in Diagon Ally with Hagrid. Thinking back on that moment Harry recalled that his scar had stung a little then as well though not enough for him to have noticed at the time. He wondered why it had hurt so painfully now.

"Namir," Fawkes' human's voice sounded a few minutes later. Harry looked up to see the man looking down under his desk at him. "You are safe now Namir. Fawkes explained what has happened. You need not go anywhere near Professor Quirrell if you do not want to."

Harry mewled in understanding but made no move to come out of his hiding place. The old man seemed to understand his reluctance to move so he smiled at Harry briefly before straightening up. The two in the office appeared to go back to their discussion that Harry had interrupted. They, unfortunately, did not get very far as an alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire castle and someone barreled into the office.

"Headmaster!" Someone bellowed. Harry recognized Hagrid's voice and he leaned down farther and looked underneath the desk's back. He saw Hagrid's feet mostly but he pressed closer and was able to see much of the half giant's body but not his head. He seemed to be extremely agitated. "McGonagall is dueling Quirrell, who's got another face sticking out of his skull. Flitwick and Sprout stayed behind to help while I came to fetch you."

"Where are they?" Dumbledore inquired as he stood up and quickly followed Hagrid from the room. Harry made a split second decision and followed him and the other man he had been speaking with.

"They were headed towards the entrance hall last I saw." Hagrid said in a slightly panting voice.

Harry made sure to stay at the back of the group and out of sight. The last thing he wanted to do was get involved in a fight he knew nothing about or could defend himself in. He was curious to see what exactly was going on though. So when they reached the entrance hall Harry hung back in the shadows and watched. The sight before him was truly a sight to behold. Minerva was ferocious in her spell casting showing that she was no stranger to a fight. Her spells were vicious in their intent and forced Quirrell on the defensive almost every time and she used her surroundings to her benefit, transforming the most insignificant things into either distractions or weapons. If he had not known she was a good person Harry would have been well and truly frightened of Minerva in that moment.

The very air seemed to pulse with power and magic as the two battled back and forth. The other two professors that Hagrid had mentions, Sprout and Flitwick, flanked Minerva and added their own spells into the fray though they were nowhere near as frightening as Minerva was in their spell work. Fawkes' human and the dark robed man that had named him, Harry vaguely remembered his name being Severus, wasted no time in jumping in to the fight. If Harry had thought Minerva had been impressive then he was out right amazed by the other two. Fawkes' human looked like an angry thunder cloud with his long white hair and beard and Severus looked like a vicious snake that struck without impunity time and again, his spells appearing far more deadly than Minerva's had been.

Harry squeaked and quickly jumped into the air to get out of the way as a stray spell came hurling towards him from the fray. To be honest, Harry was a little surprised that the fight had not already ended. Three against one was sure enough odds to take the two faced man down eventually and five to one should have been plenty to take the man down in a few minutes if not seconds. This Quirrell, however, appeared to be holding his own and even seemed to be gaining ground in the fight, though the professor's seemed to be making the man work for every inch he gained.

Finally, when a spell clipped Minerva in the shoulder, Harry made a decision to see if he could help. Working up his nerve and making sure he had complete control over his body, Harry, who was still in the air to avoid further close calls with spells, dived in from the side behind Quirrell. Ignoring the pain in his forehead, Harry dug his front and back claws deep into the man's flesh on his back. Harry's momentum from his dive continued to carry him and caused him to drag his claws across the man's back before leaping away. The unexpected distraction proved useful as the man howled in pain from both his faces for a few seconds before he was struck down by four different spells, the combination of which killed him instantly.

"Well done my dear Namir," the Headmaster said with a pant but a pleased smile was on his face. Harry made an acknowledging noise but shook his paws in discomfort, not liking the blood that coated them. The Headmaster gave a small chuckle before waving his wand, causing the blood to vanish. Harry meowed in gratitude before trotting over to Minerva. "She'll be fine Namir. She's made of sterner stuff than she looks."

"Albus," Severus said, drawing everyone's attention and finally giving Harry a name to go with the old man as opposed to just the Headmaster or Fawkes' human. It had never occurred to him before to connect Headmaster with the man who had signed his acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

Everyone looked to the man and then to what he was looking at. Quirrell had started dissolving into nothing but ash for some reason and a smoke started to billow up from his corpse. A face appeared in the middle of it and roared defiantly and in pain before fleeing through the castle doors and disappearing into the quickly darkening sky.

"It appears that the Dark Lord managed to infiltrate the castle," Severus said after a moment's thought. "Perhaps the board will listen now and agree to strengthen the wards."

"Let us hope so Severus," Dumbledore said gravely as he looked to the remains of Quirrell's body. "I shall go contact the Ministry. Would you escort Minerva and the others to the Hospital Wing?"

Severus nodded and Harry trotted after him and the others, hoping the Minerva would be okay. He liked her and not just because she smelled like cats. When they arrived in the Hospital Wing, Pomfrey was nowhere in sight so Flitwick, or who Harry assumed to be Flitwick since it was a male name, trotted over to her office and then to her fireplace for some reason. Harry did not linger to find out why the little man had gone to the fireplace of all things and followed Severus over to the beds where he had laid Minerva. Moments later Pomfrey came rushing out of her office and started casting spells on the older witch to determine her condition.

"She is very, very lucky," Madam Pomfrey said some minutes later when she straightened from her spell casting. "She got hit with a Deprimo or grazed by one by the looks of it. As it is, her shoulder is crushed. It will take some time to repair but she should be fine in the end. If the spell had hit any closer should she would have been lost."

"But she will be alright yes?" Sprout said to clarify, hope in her eyes.

"Yes," Pomfrey said with a definitive nod.

"I shall go see if I am needed elsewhere then." Severus said as he scooped up a surprised Harry, who had been sitting at the foot of Minerva's bed out of the way. "Let me know if you need anything Pomfrey."

Severus walked from the room with a confused Harry in his arms. They made their way down a flight of stairs and into what Harry presumed to be a dungeon given the dark corridors and torches on the wall. Harry started to feel rather nervous as they delved deeper into the dark corridors before they went through a room and entered what appeared to be someone's personal quarters. If he had to guess, Harry would have say they belonged to the man who was carrying him. Regardless, by the time he was set down on the couch in front of the fire Harry was shaking with nerves and fear.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said in a calm tone. Despite the calm tone Harry's head shot up in alarm. He had no idea that the man knew who he really was. "Please revert to your human form. I wish to check to see if you are healthy and have no lingering damage from what the Dursleys did to you."

"How," Harry questioned a moment later when he had obediently transformed. His voice was a little hoarse and his throat a little dry but he continued to speak regardless. "How did you know who I was?"

"Because," Severus said as he handed the boy a glass of water. "Whether they are on your face or a feline's, I know your mother's eyes when I see them."

"You knew my mom?" Harry squeaked in shock, nearly choking on the sip of water he had taken. He looked up to Severus in awe and wonder.

"I did," Severus said as he obviously pulled out his wand and started casting diagnostic spells as he sat down on the couch next to Harry. "She was quite possibly one of the brightest witches I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And while you resemble your father a great deal I can see more of your mother than him in you."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Harry asked timidly as he allowed the man's scans.

"Because it was not prudent to say anything at the time," Severus said casually after he finished his last scan and stood up. He went over to a cabinet on the other side of the room and started rummaging around. "Besides the fact that no one would believe me simply because of your age, I also realize that you are considerably safer in your animagus form than you would be if you wandered around as Harry Potter since no one would expect a fury snow leopard cub with wings to be the Boy-Who-Lived."

"What's an animagus?" Harry asked, stumbling slightly over the foreign word.

"A witch or wizard that has managed to complete a specific ritual that will allow them to transform from a human into a specific animal," Severus explained as he came back to the couch with several bottles in his hands, all with various different colored liquids inside. "Most spend decades trying to achieve the transformation. You achieved it through circumstance and accidental magic by my guessing, something that has never been heard of before."

"And that's why I'll be safer?" Harry questioned as he almost fearfully looked at the vials as Severus set them out on the table that sat between the couch and the fireplace.

"Yes," Severus said simply before turning Harry's attention to the vials. "Now, these are potions, ones I have brewed myself. They are to help improve your health and get your body up to average standards for a boy wizard of your age." He pointed to each one in turn and explained what they all did in a calm and controlled voice, though Harry detected a hint urgency to his voice. "They will undoubtedly taste horrible, almost all potions do, but they will help you in the long run. All with full and healthy meals you should brought up to average in a few months. I expect you to come to me every other day for a dose of these potions until I say otherwise."

"Okay," Harry agreed, seeing no reason not to. Despite his rather frightening demeanor, Severus was not that bad of a person. Harry obediently downed the foul tasting potions as Severus handed them to him.

"Now," Severus said when he banished the empty vials. Very delicately he said, "I know the Dursleys burn the things you purchased with Hagrid. Did that include your wand?"

"No sir," Harry said as he shifted and pulled out the eleven inches of holly and phoenix feather that he managed to keep in his pocket so Vernon didn't burn it with everything else. "It didn't feel right to just put in my trunk with everything else so I kept it in my pocket."

"It is very good that you did so," Severus encouraged with a nod of approval. He found it truly sad and pathetic at how such little praise caused the young boy to practically beam with happiness and it became all too apparent that the muggles had starved Harry in more ways than one. "I will either make a trip to Diagon Ally within the next few days or owl order you replacement supplies. Since they burned your robes as well I will have to get your measurements and order you some proper clothing."

"Thank you sir," Harry said, a little embarrassed that a man he barely knew was doing so much for him. "Does that mean I'm still going to be attending classes in September?"

"At the moment I am not certain whether or not that is wise considering everything." Severus said with careful consideration to his words. "However, whether you do or do not, that does not mean you will not learn what you need to learn. If you, as Harry Potter, do not end up attending classes, that does not mean that you, as Namir, cannot. All the Professors appear to like you so I doubt they will object to you being in their classrooms as they teach." He paused briefly to collect his thoughts and choose his next words. "If the rest of the staff is not aware by the time classes start then I will allow you to practice the more physical aspects of spell casting in my private quarters after curfew."

"Thanks for being so nice to me sir," Harry said in a rather small voice.

"You're welcome. It is nearing dinner so turn into Namir and we will go to the Great Hall and get food." Severus said.

This was more a subtle test than anything else. He wanted to see how easily Harry could switch between forms and whether or not it would cause any problems. It took a moment of deliberate concentration but Harry managed to transform in less than five minutes, which was saying something. It meant that while he could transform it was not a completely natural thing for him or his magic. Severus figured that he would have to try and coach the boy through it in order to make it become more natural. Since he was not an animagus himself he would have a hard time doing such a thing.

–Scene Break–

The next day, while everyone in the castle was going about their business and searching (or falsely searching) for one missing Harry Potter, Fawkes guided Harry away from the castle and into the mountain range that was a short distance from the grounds. Fawkes had woken him early in the morning when few were up and about so no one, save for Severus, had noticed the cubs absence and by the time the pair had reached an appropriate and secluded spot it was still early, not even breakfast had started yet.

"I have brought you out here Harry, so I can safely teach you a few things that you need to know." Fawkes said calmly as he perched on a large boulder on the out cropping of rock he had led them to. "Most wizards today view their magic simply as an extension of themselves, something they can use and abuse to get through everyday life. They have lost the knowledge of what it truly is and what it means to wield magic." Fawkes paused to ensure that Harry was paying attention and almost chuckled when he saw him sitting at attention with his tail swishing idly back and forth.

"Magic," he continued. "It is a gift, not just something you possess. It was given to humans eons ago by the very essence of magic herself. That sparked a great era of peace and prosperity for your kind." Fawkes paused as he bent his head to itch the top of his wing. "Unfortunately it also sparked the Great Wars and the human race fell into decay. You have only recently started to recover and rebuild. When your people first received magic though, they treated it as a friend, a lifelong companion that had a will of its own and because of the way they treated their magic they were able to achieve many great wonders, whereas today they struggle to learn the basics."

"Why?" Harry questioned in curiosity, his head cocked to the side slightly.

"Because they restrict themselves and their magic," Fawkes answered simply, as if it were obvious. "Instead of encouraging their magic and allowing it to expand by leaps and bounds they contain it and restrict it, making it resentful and annoyed. Every child who is born with magic has the potential to do wondrous and grand things, it is why accidental magic at that age achieves things that normally only an adult could do. However, once they start school they are told that certain things are impossible and can never be done. This," Fawkes emphasized with a sigh of disappointment and sorrow. "Causes the children to subconsciously put a block over their magic, restricting its abilities and strength. Sometimes, this starts even before school with wizarding families."

"Does no one realize what they're doing to themselves?" Harry questioned as he shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "And how do you know all of this?"

"No, they do not," Fawkes answered with a sad sigh. "And because I was there when your race was gifted, though I was very young at the time. I tell you these things Harry because you are the first person since Merlin with the potential to become what your race once was. Merlin failed in the end but he did not have anyone to guide him. He had a familiar yes but he could only do so much. With the right instruction and if you allow your magic to remain free and unfettered then you could do so much."

"Can't I just be me?" Harry asked in an almost painful and pitiful whine. He was startled when Fawkes let out a musical note of laughter.

"Of course you can Harry," Fawkes said, amusement still thick in his voice. "I am not trying to turn you into something you're not. You can be whomever you wish. I am merely attempting to allow you a greater avenue of choices to choose from. If you so wished, you could spend your life as a simple hermit. I merely tell you these things because you have a right to know."

"Ok," Harry said, still a little unsure about everything but seeing no reason to argue or rebel. "So all I have to do is allow my magic to remain free and treat more as a friend then a body part?"

"In its essence, yes," Fawkes said, still highly amused at Harry's choice in words. "There is more to it, however, and you will need to be trained how to access and commune with your magic. You will need to become as a part of your magic as your magic is a part of you." The firebird stretched and shifted before continuing. "Instead of simply existing with each other you will become one with each other. It will cater to your every whim when it can, for it does get tired and exhausted just as you, and you act as a vessel of sorts, giving it purpose and freedom."

"How am I supposed to commune with my magic?" Harry asked in utter confusion.

"I will guide you but for now we should return to the castle. Breakfast will be starting soon." Fawkes explained before he stretched his wings and took to the skies, Harry quickly following behind.

The two glided into the Great Hall just as Breakfast started. Fawkes went to perch on the Headmaster's chair while Harry landed lightly on the end of the table. A plate and bowl of food appeared in front of him, a bowl of fruit and a plate of various different meats that were all sliced for easy consumption. Harry was beginning to truly find the house elves, which he had been a little concerned and leery of, to be extremely awesome and highly incorrigible. They seemed to realize that he didn't care for carving the meat off the bone and had taken note of the different types of meat he had taken to and in just one day.

When his stomach was comfortably full and there were few people left in the hall, Harry flew up to the rafters and settled on one of the larger beams that supported the ceiling. Hedwig hooted softly as she landed beside him. Harry grinned and batted at her feathers in a facsimile of petting. He was truly grateful for her assistance in getting him here to the castle. Hedwig hooted in amusement before settling in and going to sleep with her head under her wing. She had been out all night hunting so Harry didn't begrudge her the nap. In fact, he joined her and fell into a light, comfortable doze.

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised you nap so much." Fawkes' voice sounded a few minutes later. Harry perked up to see the firebird standing next to Hedwig, who was still sleeping. "You are a cat after all." Harry scoffed at that and let his tongue hang out in an imitation of sticking his tongue hang out. "Since we all have an abundance of time on our hands I wanted to start your training now."

"Ok," Harry said eagerly, sitting up and giving Fawkes his full attention.

"I need you to transform back into your human form." Fawkes said calmly. "Don't worry about anyone seeing. No one looks up here often and I will be shielding us." Harry hesitated briefly but did as asked and returned to being human after a moment of concentration. "Good," the firebird said and though Harry understood him he could tell that there was much more effort on Fawkes' part to ensure he was being heard. "Close your eyes and focus on my voice."

A soft, lulling music reached Harry's ears instead of the words he had expected. At first it did nothing but eventually it started tugging at him, trying to pull him. Harry wasn't sure where it wanted to pull him but he trusted Fawkes and allowed the magical music to take him wherever it wished. In a matter of moments his awareness of his surroundings fell away and all Harry could see, feel, or hear was simple darkness. Used to the dark from many years of being stuffed in the cupboard under the stairs, Harry was not afraid and continued to follow the song's pull.

After what felt like hours of being pulled through the darkness they finally stopped. The music slowed even further and got to the point where Harry could almost no longer hear it. With the song fading to the background, Harry could get a stronger sense of his surroundings. He felt power pulsing nearby, power that he never thought possible. It ebbed and flowed in apparent happiness and joy. Harry turned this way and that, or thought he did at least since he had no sense of space, before finally coming upon this spec in the distance that looked like a tiny sun but with various different colors spinning in and around it.

"Go to it child," Fawkes' voice sounded through the darkness. "It is your magic and it still trusts you. If you leave now then the opportunity will be lost forever."

Harry hesitated for a long moment, unsure of what would happen to him if he went to what seemed to be a very powerful thing, before ultimately trusting those that had yet to lead him astray and walked towards the miniature sun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe save for my OC's

**A/N: **OK! So I've got a lot of fabulous reviews for the stories I've posted recently. The only one with any real controversy is Submission, which I completely expected as I was not exactly sure of that one myself. I will leave that one up for a few more days to see if there are any stragglers out there who might have more input for me before I decide to do anything with it. In the mean time, I will be posting the rest of the chapters I have completed for my other works as those have all received good reviews and everyone seems to like them. For all who follow my other stories and are desperate for an update, do not fear. **Revenge** and** The Fourth Rider** should have a new chapter in a few weeks or so. It is merely difficult for me to find time to write now that I'm working as a cashier. I'm usually so dead after work that I come home and collapse lol. These other stories I have been poking and prodding for several months and that is why I have a number of chapters to post.

Happy Readings to you all and please review! I love your guys' reviews. They often make my day :-)

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CHAPTER TWO

Fawkes stood singing up in the rafters of Hogwarts' Great Hall, well aware of the few teachers down below that were looking for the source of the song that they could hear. Thankfully, because of both himself and Hogwarts, none could see either him, Hedwig or Harry. They all knew who was singing, obviously, but none could see the firebird and it confused them immensely. Some even went so far as to go find the Headmaster to see if he knew where and why Fawkes was singing. Severus, more observant than others, knew where to look despite the fact that he couldn't see anything. He could feel the pulse of magic that was coming from above their heads and knew that for whatever reason, Fawkes was doing something with Harry.

The two avian companions watched as Harry fell into a deep meditative state. His body became more and more relaxed as time went by and if he had not been leaning up against a wooden beam, he likely would have fallen backwards or out of the rafters completely. When Harry had reached a certain state magic started pulsing gently around his form and out over the area. It was almost oppressive in its strength and simple joy in being alive. It truly was amazing to feel. Luckily, between Fawkes' magic and the castle its presence was greatly diminished and one had to be paying attention below in order to feel it.

"Be careful child," Fawkes said gently so as to not break Harry's focus and ruin everything. "Do not lose yourself. Find a balance between you and the magic. You must be equals. One cannot overpower the other else you will destroy each other. It must be something personal to yourself, something your magic will respect."

"Mom," Harry whispered in both shock and wonder. The magic stilled and almost gave off a feeling of sadness before calming into a gentle aura of magic.

"You remember your mother?" Fawkes asked, almost as surprised as Harry sounded.

"Her voice," Harry said as his eyes snapped open. They glowed and shifted in various different colors for a few seconds before returning to normal. "She was singing to me. I can't believe I remember that."

"It is amazing what sticks with us through the years without our knowing it," Hedwig said with a sighing hoot. She shifted her stance before continuing. "You should change back and make yourself known. Near as I can tell no one felt the magic but they heard the singing."

"I agree," Fawkes said with a bobbing nod of his head. "You and your magic need time to adjust to each other. Remember Harry; treat your magic as your closest and most personal friend, someone you can rely on no matter the situation."

Harry nodded and after a blink was once more Namir, the flying snow leopard. The speed in which he changed seemed to startle him momentarily but he grinned in a very feline way before walking off the edge of the wooden beam and glided down to the table where the teachers usually sat. He ignored Severus' stare in favor of settling at what was quickly becoming his spot on the table and eating the food that appeared in front of him. He and Fawkes had been up in the rafters for a good three hours and he was hungry again. As he ate, the rest of the teachers, who had been spread out throughout the hall searching for Fawkes, started converging on the table as their desire for food overcame their desire to find the invisible firebird.

"Who are you going to hire as the new defense teacher Albus?" Professor Sprout asked as they all sat down. "Or are you since it is so close to the start of term?"

"There were a few other applicants but none of them were overly promising." Dumbledore said with a sad and annoyed sigh. "I am thinking of calling in a favor of someone but if they will not or cannot do it then I will either teach it myself or figure something else out. The students need Defense Against the Dark Arts. We cannot simply cancel it."

"While I agree with that sentiment," Severus said in his usual drawling tone. Even though he was focused on his food Harry noted how the man was watching him out of the corner of his eye. "You do realize that letters have already gone out with Quirrell's curriculum and book choices? Even if you do managed to get someone else into the position between now and then they would have to operate off of what he has set up. Else they would force the kids to rely solely on the books in the library."

"Unfortunately, that is the problem," Dumbledore said as he looked down at his plate, appearing as if he no longer wished to eat, though he filled his fork nonetheless. "I looked over the list myself. The books themselves are not that unknown or uninformative. They could use the books to build their own curriculum just this once."

"This constant changing of Defense professors is getting old." Minerva complained with a sour look on her face. No one noticed how a piece of chocolate cake suddenly appeared in front of Namir, floating on a silver dish before it settled on the table and quickly became devoured by the leopard. "Perhaps we should hire someone to investigate whether or not it actually is cursed. A curse-breaker would be a good choice."

A small but rather loud burp drew everyone's attention to the leopard at the end of the table. Nearly all of them broke into giggles at the sight Harry presented. He looked rather happy but he had whip cream on top of his nose and clinging to the ends of his whiskers. A little annoyed that he could not do so properly, Harry lifted his tail and dragged it across his face, cleaning most but not all of the whip cream off. Before he could try again Harry felt a tingle run across his face and tail and all the whip cream vanished. He squeaked in happiness and settled down on the end of the table, content to let his gaze wander and associate with his magic a little more.

"Your idea has merit though, Minerva," Dumbledore said getting back on topic, though his eyes still twinkled in merriment. "Unless any of you have any suggestions I shall begin searching for a curse breaker as soon as I am able."

"I believe Molly's eldest son is working towards that," Minerva supplied after a moment of thought. "I will have to owl her or William to see where he is at on that front. If he is not one himself perhaps he and his mentor could be of assistance."

"I think that would be a wonderful idea Minerva," Dumbledore said with an appreciative nod as he drank the last of his drink. "I shall still look for curse breakers though, in case they are not able."

The rest of the staff nodded before falling into silence and finishing their meals. After a while, Harry got bored so he hopped off the table and left the Great Hall, intent on exploring the castle. Since he had been down once already, Harry decided to go up this time. The grand staircase and its many moving staircases and hundreds of paintings captured his attention for a good long while before he started up the stairs. Curious to see how many levels the castle had, Harry started his exploration by going to the very top of the grand staircase, counting as he went.

When he reached the seventh floor and the end of the grand staircase, Harry decided to explore this level of the castle before going down to others. He found little that struck his interest. There were a few classrooms and scattered portraits. The one thing that did catch his interest was a room that had appeared out of nowhere as he walked by. When he poked his head in to see what this mysterious room held he was surprised to see that it contained nothing more than a cat bed. It was large and looked extremely comfortable. He resisted the urge to lie down and take a nap though, as he was still curious about the rest of the castle. Harry made note of his location though, should he ever want to come back and take a nap.

Turning from the room, Harry made his way down the stairs to the sixth floor to see if anything was interesting there. On his way he noticed a passage that was hidden behind a tapestry. Curious as to why someone would hide a passage in such a manner, Harry ducked behind the tapestry. The passage was actually another staircase that led downward. Not seeing any reason not to, Harry went down the stairs, confused as to why someone would hide a staircase. It was obviously meant to be a short cut of sorts and likely would come in extremely handy during the school year. Why someone would hide it was beyond him.

Harry came out at the end of the staircase and found himself, obviously on a different floor, but with no idea of what floor he was actually on. It seemed innocent enough so Harry continued to wander. Eventually he wandered through a doorway where he ended up stopping dead in his tracks. The room he had wandered into was completely full of books. It was obviously the school's library but it was quite possibly the biggest library he had ever seen. Granted he had only ever been in his muggle school's library but still. He had never thought so many books could be in one place. Dudley had never shown an interest in books and so they had never gone to any book stores.

"I am in heaven." Harry said succinctly to himself as he started forward at a slow place, his head swiveling this way and that.

Harry had always loved books. They never really hurt him, unless they were thrown at him. Even then though, it was not really the book that had hurt him but rather the person who threw it at him. Becoming almost giddy, Harry trotted into the depths of the shelves in search of a good book for him to read.

–Scene Break–

"Headmaster." Severus said as he entered the old man's office. He stopped a few steps in when he saw Remus Lupin sitting in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. "Lupin." He added in a tightly controlled voice.

"Severus," Dumbledore said with a genial smile and a twinkle in his eye. Severus, however, detected a slight edge of nervousness to his voice. "You are just in time. Remus here has accepted the position of the Defense Professor. Fawkes was kind enough to take my letter to him and he flooed here just a few hours ago. We were going over plans for the class."

"I see," Severus said, unsure of how he felt about that. "I wondered if I might have a private word."

"I think that would be acceptable," Dumbledore said with an agreeing nod. "It will give Remus here time to settle into his new quarters and office and set things up."

"I will speak with you later then Headmaster," Remus said as he stood up with a bit of a sigh. "Severus."

Severus stepped aside and out of Remus' way with a blank mask over his face. He waited patiently for a few minutes after the door had closed to ensure that the man was well out of earshot before turning his attention back to the Headmaster. He took mild pleasure in noting the distinct edge of nervousness to the old man's movements. Truly he had no reason to be nervous since he was well within his rights to hire whomever he wished. However, given the history between Severus and Remus, he was obviously concerned over how the two men would get along as coworkers.

"I suppose that I shall be brewing the wolfsbane every month now, on top of my other duties." Severus said, more of a statement than a question. His raised eyebrow clearly stated how he felt about not being consulted before hand.

"I had hoped you would," Dumbledore said carefully. "If you do not wish to, I am certain I can find someone else to brew it discretely for him."

"While I have never liked the man," Severus said at length, though he kept a scowl on his face. "I have never hated him either. He shall have the potion when he needs it, though he might not get it this month given the short notice." He deepened his scowl when Dumbledore smiled broadly and the twinkle in his eyes went up a notch. "I suggest you end the search for Mr. Potter."

"Have you found something then?" Dumbledore asked, becoming almost desperately hopeful yet fearful at the same time, suspecting the worse.

"No," Severus said in a clipped voice. He had to fight to keep a smirk off his face as he watched the old man become crestfallen. He technically had not lied. He had found nothing concerning Harry's whereabouts. The fact that he had actually located the boy was entirely irrelevant.

"Why do you suggest we end the search then?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.

"To avoid suspicion," Severus answered, as if it should have been obvious. His voice and raised eyebrow made it clear that he thought the man was missing something that was right in front of his face. "If word were to get out that the boy was missing it would incite panic and an investigation by the ministry. I doubt anyone would want that at this point in time."

"We cannot simply leave an abused and likely injured eleven year old boy out on the streets." Dumbledore said in reprimand, thinking that Severus was being his usual crass and cruel self when it regarded Harry Potter.

"He isn't," Severus stated calmly. "I understand that my track record with all things Potter is hardly glittering gold," he continued before Dumbledore could question him further. His voice took on a slightly annoyed tone as well as an insinuating edge. "However, this is not just a Potter. This is an abused child. Of everyone in this castle, I am the most experienced with handling and treating abused children. I would not hold this boy's heritage against him when he has been abused the way he has been. Call off the search or at least let it fade into the back ground."

"How are you the most experienced person in this castle when it comes to abused children?" Dumbledore asked in confusion, even as he realized that Severus was attempting to tell him something without outright saying it. He leaned forward on his desk and interlaced his hands.

"Are you playing dunce?" Severus asked in a truly biting tone, one that was worse than the voice he had used to discuss Potter. It was worse because it held no tone whatsoever, indicating that Severus was dead serious. After a decade of working with Severus, a year of which the man had been a spy, Dumbledore had learned to tell the difference between the man's tones. "Or do you truly not know?"

"Know what Severus?" Dumbledore asked, dreading the answer to the question.

"Ugh!" Severus said in utter disgust as he went over to a particular cabinet that sat behind the Headmaster's desk and pulled open a draw and started rifling through the files. "Of all the stupid, idiotic things you have done over the years," he mumbled, mostly to himself even though Dumbledore could quite obviously hear him. "I cannot believe that no one, not even you, bothered to read my missives. Oh for the love of Merlin!" He swore as he stood up.

Severus turned back to face Dumbledore, revealing that he was holding a file that was at least as thick as his chest was wide. He moved forward and let it drop onto the old man's desk with a loud and heavy thunk.

"I had simply thought that no one cared," Severus groused as he made his way back into the middle of the office, the glare on his face chilling Dumbledore's old bones despite the warm weather. "So after the first five years, I stopped being so detailed in my reports. But to find that no one had even been _listening_ is very nearly worse. I had not followed up on any of them because I foolishly assumed that you knew but could do nothing. I do hope you enjoy your reading Albus," Severus turned and started marching towards the door. It was the use of his given name that let Dumbledore know just how deep he was in it with his Potions Master. The man only used it when he was truly pissed off. "Circe knows I enjoyed writing it."

Severus stalked down the corridor attempting to keep himself from lashing out and trying to calm down. He was not very successful. He simply could not believe that no one had bothered to even look at the files. The Headmaster and every head of house had files that were designated for each different house. They were all connected and designed for instant duplication of reports and the like between houses and the Headmaster. It was set up that way so if the head of one house ever dealt with an extremely private matter with a student from another house then that student's regular Head of House could be kept up to date since it was their responsibility to step in and/or contact the students' parents should something truly serious arise.

He had thought that no one cared or at least that no one could do anything and it had played a major role in how he had been behaving over the past ten years. To find that no one had even been looking sent Severus into a rage he had not felt since he was a young and arrogant child that had been hell bent on cruel revenge towards his tormentors. It made him want to curse every living thing in sight until everyone was running in terror from his ruthless spells.

Severus stalked into his private quarters and immediately made for his personal potions lab to do some much needed brewing so he could calm down before he attempted to brew the Wolfsbane in time for the full moon.

–Scene Break–

The remainder of August passed with relative ease. Dumbledore had remained holed up in his office for almost an entire week as he went over the hundreds, if not thousands of reports Severus had filed since becoming the Head of Slytherin. When he had finally finished he had called Severus to his office and profusely apologized for not noticing sooner and swore he would be doing something straight away. Severus had scoffed and doubted the notion but did not argue against it. Dumbledore had also said he would follow Severus' advice and cease efforts to locate Harry. The school year was approaching and they needed to focus on the school in order to keep things running anyways.

As for Harry, since discovering the library he had spent most of his time in there, reading and learning everything he could get his furry little paws on. Twice he had been dragged out of there by Severus when he had neglected to show for his bi-daily potions before he had forced himself to get it out of the way before he even approached the library. During the days he did not spend in the library he was usually around either Fawkes or Hedwig.

Hedwig had started taking him out at night and taught him how to hunt. Since they were different species she had merely given him the basics and allowed him to adjust to his own style of hunting. He would never actually kill anything he hunted since the thought of raw food such as that repulsed him but it was still a valuable skill to have. Hedwig had also taken to teaching him how to communicate with other animals while in his animagus form. Fawkes was a special case since the old firebird had been around for so many centuries that he knew and understood just about everything.

Speaking of Fawkes, the phoenix had been teaching Harry how to meditate and commune with his magic without the aid of his song. It was probably one of the more arduous tasks he had been given since he physically had to do nothing and constantly felt like he was falling asleep when he did not want to be. As such, whenever he started getting close to any sort of meditative state he kept jerking himself out of it. Fawkes was ever patient and understanding and did not make him feel as if he were failing and did everything to assure Harry that everyone does the same exact thing when they start meditation for the very first time. By the end of August however, Harry was able to reach an appropriately calm state, the most basic level of meditation, and hold it for a solid ten minutes before he reflexively snapped out of it.

Fawkes had also been teaching Harry some basic magical techniques. Well… basic for him. Since he had freed his magic rather than suppressed it Harry could do certain things a little easier than most witches and wizards, either adults or children. One such technique was the ability to detect magical signatures and auras. Harry found it very interesting and had practiced hard to master the ability. He had even identified Minerva as an animagus, recognizing the magical signature from looking at himself and comparing the auras. He had also identified the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus if his memory served, as some sort of magical creature. Harry had not been sure what until Fawkes told him the man was a werewolf.

Now, it was the start of the new school year and everyone was congregated in the Great Hall. Students had been filing in since about six, six thirty that evening. Harry was up in the rafters again watching everything, his tail hanging below him and swinging back and forth. Several of the teachers looked up at him in mild amusement or, in Severus' case, concern, making sure he was secure and not going to fall off.

The great doors groaning open drew everyone's attention and Harry swiveled his head to see Minerva marching through with a contingent of roughly forty kids following her. She led them to the front of the hall, right in front of the Head Table. She explained to the new students and consequently Harry, how they would be sorted for a brief moment before unfurling a scroll she had been holding and started calling out names. He watched as the different students got sorted into the four different houses and idly wondered what house he would really be in. Hagrid had told him he likely would have followed his parents and gone into Gryffindor but he didn't think so, not after the Sorting Hat's song just now.

"Harry Potter!" Minerva called suddenly, causing Harry to twitch slightly and his tail stopped swinging. He wanted to go down but Severus, Fawkes, _and _Hedwig had all counseled him against it. He needed to remain as innocuous for as long as possible and thus safer longer.

The hall broke into whispers when Harry failed to make himself known. Minerva did a good job of hiding it but he saw the concern that flashed across her face before she moved on with the sorting, causing the whispers to calm slightly. When the last student had been sorted, Dumbledore stood up and gave the start of term announcements that included the new Defense teacher and the forbidden areas. When he finished the feast began and Harry finally left his post, gliding down from the rafters to perch on the edge of the Head Table between Dumbledore and Severus.

"I do hope he is alright," Minerva said as she started loading food onto her plate. Knowing who she was referring to, Harry focused on his plate of sliced ham and bowl of berries.

"I'm sure the brat is fine and merely hiding somewhere to recover from his abuse." Severus replied in a clipped voice as he focused on his own food. "If he had been taken or killed by anyone with a vendetta against him then it would be all over the papers. They would not hesitate to display their supposed victory." Harry paused at that and raised his eyes in thought briefly but quickly continued eating.

"Severus has a point Minerva," Dumbledore said calmly before the woman could start to lay into the Head of Slytherin. "Until we find him or have unequivocal evidence to say otherwise, let us assume that he has found somewhere safe to stay and recover from what he has endured." Tired of the conversation and finished with his meal, Harry hopped off the table and made towards the students to see if he could make a few friends. "Ah," he heard Dumbledore say, as if remembering someone. "Students! I forgot to mention another little addition to Hogwarts this year. This is Namir," he indicated Harry, who was wandering towards the Gryffindor table. "He will not harm any of you and I expect each and every one of you to treat him with proper respect."

Several of the students gawked at his passing but he ignored them in favor of approaching the lion house and the people who likely would have been his friends had he arrived on the train like any other student. Most of them were watching him in mild apprehension but there was one bushy haired first year that was absorbed in a book and had enough space on either side of her for two students to sit next to her. Harry knew what that was like, to be isolated from everyone else. Dudley had seen to it numerous times between bullying him and ensuring that everyone else stayed away from him. This was different though. Harry didn't think she was being bullied; rather that she was isolating herself.

Harry hopped up onto the bench next to her and sat down facing her. She didn't notice his presence since she was apparently quite absorbed in her book. Harry made a huffing sound accompanied with his jaw snapping shut that made an audible clacking noise. Harry saw her ear twitch in response to his noise but she did not otherwise react. Harry felt the other students around them watching but he ignored them since none of them were bothering them. Shifting his stance, Harry moved from the bench and pounced on the book, pinning it to the table and snapping the girl out of her reading trance.

"Hey!" the girl said in indignation only to come up short and lean back in surprise and a small amount of fear.

Harry was not surprised by the fear. His animagus form had grown a little bit since he arrived at Hogwarts and he no longer looked fully like a young Snow Leopard cub and looked more like a Snow Leopard that was a few months old. Harry stared at the girl in passivity for several minutes with her staring right back. The girl did not seem to know what to do with him sitting right in front of her and on her book. In an attempt to alleviate some of her fear, Harry lifted his tail, which was longer than him at this point, and brushed it along her cheek. That, coupled with the gentle and calm aura of his magic allowed the girl to relax and realize that he meant her no harm.

"I have never read of a magical animal like him before," someone down the table said as they looked down at Harry. He had short cropped hair and appeared well built, though he could have only been just entering his teens. "If it weren't for the wings and the feeling of magic around him, he would look exactly like a normal snow leopard."

"If he is actually related to snow leopards it's possible he's never been encountered before." Someone else said someone Harry did not recognize but looked to be nearing the end of her Hogwarts education. "They've been endangered for some time now. A magical creature related to them would be even more rare and it's entirely possible that no one has encountered this type of magical creature before."

Harry meowed, as if to confirm what she had said but he was really trying not to laugh. From everything he had been told no one had encountered a magical creature like him before. The fact that he was an animagus and not an actual magical animal was irrelevant really. Harry merely found it funny that they had not realized the obvious. As far as Harry was aware, there _was_ no magical animal that was a snow leopard with white leathery wings. Fawkes had certainly never said or indicated whether or not his animagus form was a real magical animal.

"Whether he is or isn't," a pair of identical redheads said as they held out their hands for Harry to sniff and then started petting him. Harry started purring, enjoying the tactile pleasure of four hands rubbing him. "He is adorable."

"He is," the girl he was sitting in front of said. Harry finally remembered her name from the sorting as Hermione Granger.

"He's a dangerous beast," someone else said, causing the hands rubbing him to pause. "He shouldn't be allowed in a school." Harry growled softly.

"He's a cub Ron," one twin said with a hard edge to his voice as he gave Ron, who Harry presumed to be their little brother, a glare. "And a magical creature to boot. The teachers wouldn't allow him in the school and to mingle with the students if he posed a threat to us."

Harry looked to the twins little brother, absently remembering the boy's last name as Weasley. He stiffened slightly when he saw the dark look the boy was giving him, recognizing the look from his cousin. Harry made a note to keep an eye on the boy to make sure he didn't get caught unaware or alone with the boy around. As he turned his gaze away Harry noted a strange aura coming from the boy's robes. It originated solely from the boy's robe pocket and it was a signature Harry recognized easily.

With slightly narrowed eyes, Harry turned fully from the boy, gave each of the hands that had been petting him a lick of his tongue in appreciation before jumping off the table and trotting across the hall, mingling with the other students. He glanced back briefly and was happy to note that Hermione had put her book away and was hesitantly trying to make friends and repair the damage she had unintentionally caused. A little happier, Harry trotted through the hall, pausing at each of the tables to socialize with the first year students. A particularly nervous boy at the Hufflepuff table caught his attention and he spent several minutes with him, trying to get the boy relax and open up.

Eventually, when he had received a shy smile from the nervous boy, Harry trotted off again. His last stop before the students started dispersing for the night was the Slytherin table. There he saw the same blond boy he had met at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Ally. He was wary of approaching the boy, as he had seemed entirely rude and stuck up when they had been conversing in the shop. When he saw the boy discretely hold out a handful of berries though, he saw things in a slightly different light. The boy obviously had a heart and he couldn't help but wonder if he had merely been acting in the shop.

Harry sighed at those implications as he rubbed up against the boy's leg in thanks before leaving the hall all together. It was late and the students were already getting ready to leave so he figured he would go find a nice place to sleep for the night. It would probably be in Remus' rooms. The man had taken a liking to him and had provided a lovely cat bed for him that was unbelievably soft and comfortable.

On his way out of the hall, Harry caught sight of the Weasley boy again and the aura that emanated from the boy's pocket. He narrowed his eyes. Something told him that something was very wrong.

–Scene Break–

"Does Namir appear agitated to you?" Severus asked at breakfast the next morning.

He had been sitting in the Great Hall for twenty minutes and was enjoying the relative silence of the early hour, the students having yet to adjust from the summer, and had not noticed anything out of the ordinary until he caught sight of Harry, as Namir, up in the rafters and pacing along one of the wooden beams. His attention was focused on the main doors, even as he paced, and his tail was not swishing back and forth as it usually did. Instead, it was curled slightly to keep it from dragging on the wooden beam and positioned directly behind Harry, along the path of his spine. If Severus focused enough, he could hear small feline sounds coming from the flying leopard.

"He does appear unsettled," Remus replied as he too looked towards the rafters. Given the early hour, he, Severus, and the other heads were the only staff in the hall at the time.

"I wonder why?" Filius questioned curiously as he split his attention between watching his Ravenclaws and the leopard. "I've only ever seen him agitated once and that was during the incident with Quirrell. Then, I was rather distracted at the time so I wasn't paying much attention to Namir."

"Hmmm…" Severus hummed in thought. It was true that none of them had really paid attention to Namir during that little debacle but he probably had been quite agitated then as well. "He senses something. I suggest we all be on our guard. If he acts in any way similar to how he did with Quirrell we need to be ready."

All of them, even Remus, did not doubt the wisdom of those words and they all subtly drew their wands. The minutes ticked by and more students and staff entered the hall. The entering staff was made aware of the suspicions and prepared as well. Finally, as a group of Gryffindor's made their way into the hall, Namir froze, his attention locked on those who had just entered. The teachers all scanned the new arrivals and noted they were all first years, the boys in fact. Namir's stance shifted from one of agitated impatience to one of a hunter watching its prey. He crouched low on the support beam he had been pacing on and never took his eyes off the boys that had just walked in.

Noticing the change, the teachers all gripped their wands a little tighter. Several minutes ticked by and the students were finally beginning to notice that something was off, since the heads would usually be passing out the time tables by now. Just as a ripple of unease traveled the student body and they all looked towards the ceiling, Namir moved. The teachers all stood up as Harry fearlessly dropped from the rafters. His wings were held tight against his body until the last few seconds where they flared open to slow his decent. He landed on the Gryffindor table with a loud thud that sounded louder than it should have in the silence of the Great Hall. The first year boys made several sounds of shock and surprise, Weasley even fell off his seat as he lurched back.

Unconcerned with how he had frightened the boys, Harry quickly lifted off the table again and made for the staff table. When he was over the table, Harry released his catch and Remus caught it out of reflex. The other teachers stared in amused, disbelieving relief when they all saw that he was holding a rat. Some even foolishly assumed that Namir had acted as an actual feline and was attempting to show off his catch. Remus did not. He stared at the now cowering and squirming rat in his hand that was squealing like a stuck pig, a thousand thoughts racing through his brain.

"Lupin." Severus said in a level but drawn out tone that caught everyone's attention.

"There is but one reason that I can think of," Remus said as he raised his wand and pressing it against the rat's throat just under its jaw, causing it to cease its attempts to flee. His voice had gone cold and dangerous. "As to why you would hide yourself for the past ten years. My only question is, why?"

"Remus," Minerva said, slightly unnerved by the man's monologue and demeanor. "It's just a rat."

"Transform, Peter," Remus growled, actually growled. "Or I pop you like a pimple." To emphasize his point he clenched his hand, causing the rat to squeal in protest.

"Remus please," the balding and fat man that Remus was suddenly holding by the scruff of his robes said. "You don't–" he was cut off as he was slammed into the table, making the food and dishes on the long table jump almost comically.

"I don't what?" Remus asked in a dangerous voice as he leaned over the man he had called Peter. The other teachers stared on in shock for reasons known only to them. "Do tell me why it is you betrayed us all, why you offered us all up on silver platters to the Dark Lord. You didn't just betray James and Lily; you betrayed Sirius and me as well. You know how I get when I feel betrayed Wormtail."

"P-p-please," he begged as he turned whiter than a ghost.

"What would I find if I looked at your left arm Peter?" Remus questioned in disgust. "Or should I even bother to look?"

"I-it wasn't like that," Peter tried to assure but Severus interrupted him.

"It would certainly appear that way." Severus drawled as he held up the man's arm and did up the sleeve, revealing a faded but very prominent Dark Mark.

Remus opened his mouth and let out a low, feral growl that was cut short by a slap across the face. It wasn't a slap from any of the professors, that much he could tell as there was no skin to skin contact or slapping sound. He distinctly felt fur touch his face and that accompanied by the slight stinging of claws being dragged across his face told him that it was an animal that had slapped him. He looked up, still wrapped up in the haze of the wolf, to find Namir staring directly at him with a soft but an entirely disapproving gaze. The tilt of his head was meant to draw Remus' attention to the students he was starting to frighten but Remus was fixated by those eyes, wondering how he had not seen it before.

"Students!" Dumbledore called as he released a round of sparks in the air to get their attention. "Until further notice classes will be suspended for the day. Prefects are to lead your perspective houses back to the dormitories. Until further notice this school is on lock down. No one is to be out of their dorms unless released by a teacher."

"I shall go call the Aurors," Minerva said as the students started dispersing. She still sounded stunned about everything that had just transpired but was quickly coming out of it. "And ensure my lions behave."

"Lupin," Severus said as he hesitantly but firmly came up beside the wolf, who was still staring at Namir in surprise. Harry had not actually punctured his skin when he slapped Remus as he had only applied enough pressure to irritate the skin, leaving three parallel red lines on his cheek. "Lupin." Severus said again when the man failed to respond. "Remus!" He snapped as he gripped the man's shoulder tightly. Remus finally turned to look at him and Severus gave a very small shake of his head as he said, "He is contained. Even if he transforms back into a rat the ropes will still bind him and keep him from running off. If you apply any more pressure to his chest you will more than likely crush his heart."

Remus looked down at Peter and saw that he was indeed bound by ropes. With a disgusted look, Remus released the traitor and turned away. He started badly when he felt a weight drop on his shoulder. Remus looked to see Namir perching precariously on his shoulder. The leopard looked around briefly before pulling a very human gesture and pressing his paw to his lips in a shushing manner and giving Remus a wink. It was a very adorable expression on a snow leopard that looked only a few months old but it was still human in nature. His suspicions confirmed, though he was still very shocked at the notion, Remus brought up his hands and Namir climbed into his embrace and started purring.

"Remus," Dumbledore said in a calm voice. Hugging Harry to his chest, Remus turned to face the Headmaster. "I will ensure that everything is taken care of and that includes Sirius' release. Why don't you go to your rooms to cool down?"

"I think I will," Remus said with a nod. "Severus." He added, appearing to merely acknowledge the man's presence and assistance but actually expressing an entire novel in the one word and single look.

"I trust you noticed the additions to the file I made last night," Severus inquired in a hard voice when Remus had left the hall, passing by the Aurors as he went.

"I have Severus," Dumbledore said in a heavy voice that spoke of regret and weariness. The other Heads all looked shameful and regretful as well, as they should be. They had all been informed of the oversight after Dumbledore had finished reading all of the reports Severus had made. "I have already made the reports official and sent them off to the Ministry. There was not much I could do about the older reports over the summer but with the new ones, some of them can be tended to as there were repeat offenses."

"Then I shall leave you to tend to this mess," Severus said with a satisfied nod before turning and leaving the hall.

Remus made for his quarters at a calm but quick pace. Harry was held securely in his arms, purring occasionally. He knew he had liked the man but he had never known that he had once been friends with his parents. From everything he had gathered in the great hall, Remus, his mom and dad, the Peter person he had caught, and this Sirius had all been friends at one point before Peter ended up betraying them all. Harry had no idea who the rat had been before he caught it, just that it was an animagus and likely should not have been in the school, despite the fact that he appeared to be a pet of sorts to the Weasley boy.

Harry sighed at that thought. He would have to be even more careful around the boy now. Weasley likely would not take kindly to him taking his pet away, animagus or no.

"How is this possible?" Remus suddenly asked. Harry looked up to see that they had entered the man's quarters. He set Harry down on the couch. Harry stretched briefly before shifting back into a human. "You're only eleven. How could you possibly be an animagus? And why aren't you with the other students about to attend classes?"

"Severus said that it was a combination of circumstances and accidental magic." Harry explained a little hesitantly, not particularly wanting to discuss the exact circumstances that had led him to becoming an animagus without the training. "And he, along with Fawkes, thought it wise that I remain as Namir for as long as possible and with as few people knowing as possible. Until now only Severus knew that Harry Potter was Namir. He found out the same way you did, by recognizing my eyes. As for classes, I was planning on attending as Namir. Severus said he would allow me to practice spells at the end of the day in private. I would assume that included potions considering that he's the potion's Professor."

"Your assumption is correct," Severus' voice sounded from the doorway, drawing their attention. "I was planning on alternating days where you practice spells and potions, allowing me time to grade while you are brewing."

"Why this elaborate charade though?" Remus questioned, turning to Severus since he appeared willing to provide some more detailed answers.

"You were not here at the beginning of August," Severus said before turning to Harry, who was eating a grilled cheese with chips and a glass of orange juice, which was hovering a few inches above his knee. "As this is your private matter, it is your choice as to whether or not I divulge your secrets to Mr. Lupin here. Where did you get that?"

"I didn't get breakfast before I caught the rat so I asked for some food," Harry said with a slight shrug of his shoulders before taking a draw on his glass of orange juice. "And I suppose he has a right to know given that he knows who I am now. That way he can understand things a little more."

Severus nodded before gesturing Remus off to the side, where they quietly started conversing. As he ate, Harry quietly applauded his ability to slip past that without telling anyone about his magic. Fawkes had made it clear to keep that quiet until he had a better handle on things. He had said that if people knew now than they would probably attempt to lock his magic away again. They likely would not attempt to do so intentionally but they would try to get him to think within the realm of their rules as opposed to the realm of what his magic could and could not do by its own terms.

Just as he was considering using his magic to create a toy to amuse himself, Harry heard footsteps out in the hall and quickly changed back into Namir. He hopped onto the back of the couch he had been sitting on and assumed the poise of an unconcerned feline. It wasn't exactly hard considering that he still had grease on his fingers from his grilled cheese sandwich. Not to mention that he found that he is far more easily entertained as a leopard than he is as a boy.

"Oh," Minerva said in surprise when she saw the two men standing by a window across from the fireplace after being told to enter after her knock. She had quite obviously not been expecting them. Harry hopped off the back of the couch and went over to rub against her legs in welcome. "I wasn't expecting you to be here Severus."

"I was merely informing Lupin of the events regarding Mr. Potter." Severus explained in a lazy drawl. Harry once again marveled at the man's acting skills. He could really fool anyone he wished. "Naturally, given recent events, he was curious as to Mr. Potter's whereabouts."

"Yes," Minerva said with a sad sigh. "We are doing what we can to search for him but at the moment, all we can do is hope he is alive and healthy."

"If he is anything like either of his parents then I'm sure he is," Remus said with a reassuring nod, turning out to be just as good of an actor as Severus. Harry shook his head in amazed amusement. "Though I doubt you came to my rooms to discuss Harry. Was there something you wished to tell me? Or us?"

"Albus wanted me to inform the both of you that he will be making an announcement at lunch." Minerva explained as she squatted down and picked Harry up, smiling as he started purring. He purred all the louder when she scratched behind his ears. "He will explain everything that happened at breakfast then and classes will start after lunch as scheduled."

"Thank you Minerva," Severus said with a curt nod. "I shall see to it that my snakes have their schedules by then."

Harry hopped out of Minerva's arms as she turned to leave and made for the cat bed that was over by the fireplace. Knowing the finicky nature of cats and still thinking that Namir was an actual snow leopard, Minerva hardly blinked at Harry's choice to remain in the room with Severus and Remus. They all waited patiently to ensure Minerva was a fair distance away before they continued talking.

"What is being done about his relatives?" Remus questioned in a tight voice. Harry growled as he moved from the bed, which had just been a ploy to fool Minerva, and jumped up on the back of the couch. The other two looked to him but he did not look angry, merely uncomfortable.

"At present, nothing," Severus said slowly and deliberately emphasizing the first two words. "It would draw more attention to Mr. Potter's absence. I am actually surprised it has yet to reach the papers. However, when Mr. Potter becomes ready to integrate himself into the public once more, it will be his decision whether or not charges will be pressed."

Harry's tail twitched in agitation and gratitude alike. He knew that almost everyone would want to press charges against his aunt and uncle but if it were up to him he would simply let it be. He was never going back to them, no matter what anyone decided, so he wanted it to just go away. It was because of this that Harry was both agitated and grateful. Severus was the first person in Harry's life that had ever given him any sort of choice in his life and Harry appreciated that but Harry knew that even Severus would want charges pressed.

"That's fair," Remus sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face. "I have to ask though, how did you know about Peter?"

"I didn't know who the rat was," Harry explained when he shifted back and stabilized himself on the back of the couch. "I just knew it was an animagus. Fawkes has been teaching me how to read magical signatures and auras. I recognized the aura of an animagus from looking at Minerva."

"Do you have any idea how advanced that is?" Severus questioned in shock, almost sounding as if he thought Harry was trying to lie to him.

"Do you have any idea how skilled a phoenix is?" Harry retorted in an attempt to avoid the topic of his magic. "He's a very good teacher. He's even been teaching me how to meditate."

"Circumstances aside," Remus said with a smile spreading across his face. "I believe your parents would be extremely proud of you, Harry." Harry smiled a little hesitantly but felt a tug in his heart all the same. "Now, I think we all need to get going. I have a tough conversation to prepare for and a class schedule to adjust."

"Agreed," Severus said as he straightened up from leaning against the windowsill. "Come Mr. Potter. We shall get your potions out of the way since we have time."

Harry hissed in distaste at having to take the nasty potions but obediently followed after the snarky man. He heard Remus chuckle and sigh simultaneously. Absently, Harry wondered what conversation the man had to prepare for. Putting the matter from his mind, Harry continued after the Potions Master.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Harry was perched on a shelf in one of Hogwarts' greenhouses next to a completely innocuous and harmless potted plant. The past three months had been fun, in his opinion. No one else had discovered who he was and he had been able to attend all the classes he normally would as a new student. None of the teachers minded his presence since he never interfered. Even Severus tolerated him, going so far as to partner him with a student, something the other teachers had found shocking. Harry suspected that it had something to do with the incident with the Hufflepuff named Neville Longbottom. Harry had managed to keep the boy from blowing his potion up and covering everyone in boils, even himself. Since then, Harry had been practical partners with the boy, ensuring there were no more errors and getting an even better understanding of potions.

Now, it was the middle of December and nearing Christmas holidays. Today was the last day of classes and some of the students would be returning home for the holidays while others remained at the castle. Harry had been informed that a man by the name of Sirius Black would be visiting the castle during that time. Remus had said that the man was his godfather and he was coming to the castle to talk to Remus. They had apparently been very good friends during school along with his parents and the rat he had caught and Remus was going to fill the man in on the happenings of the past decade, with the exception of the events surrounding Harry. Remus was going to leave that bit for later so he did not blow the man's brain up or cause him to run off and hex Harry's relatives.

Harry watched as the students tended to the plants that they were supposed to be caring for during the school year and getting them ready for the two and a half weeks they would be gone. In Harry's opinion, this was the simplest class that Hogwarts offered for the students. He attributed it to gardening in the muggle world. It was the one chore his aunt had set him to that he did not mind doing since he got to spend time outside and away from his family. It had been calm and peaceful work since Dudley wouldn't dare do anything to Petunia's garden. The one time he had, Petunia had caught him in the act when Harry was nowhere around and had grounded the boy for a week. The only difference in this case was the type of plants you worked with and the fact that sometimes the plants fought back.

"Alright class," Pomona said at the end of the class, drawing Harry's attention from watching the students taking notes. They had very few practical lessons so far, all with simple herbs. "Wrap up your notes. It's the end of the term so I believe I can let you guys go a little early."

The students clamored their enjoyment at that and quickly started packing up their things. Harry hopped down off his shelf and started helping Pomona move some pots around, using his magic to make things a little lighter. He did this after every Herbology lesson since it was usually the last class of the day and he enjoyed the little work he could do. Pomona loaded a cart with various different plants and Harry pushed it over to where she indicated, placing his front paws on the bottom of the cart and pushing forward with his back feet.

"You are such a helpful little dear," Pomona said with a happy smile as she knelt down and rubbed Harry behind the ears. Harry purred happily. "Go on and enjoy the snow Namir. There isn't much left to do and I've seen how you like to play in the snow."

Harry grinned before trotting off and out the door. Hogwarts' grounds were covered in snow that was at least two feet deep. Harry had never been very fond of snow before, his inappropriate clothing making things just too cold for him to properly enjoy it. However, since he was now covered in an extremely thick coat of fur he was able to enjoy the snow and stay warm in the process.

Feeling playful, Harry made his way across the grounds towards the sounds of students. His furry and padded paws were designed for snowy and rocky environments and so allowed Harry to walk on top of the snow without falling through to the ground. This allowed him to make his way across the grounds with relative ease. The site where the kids were shouting and playing was on a stretch of grounds between the castle and Hagrid's hut that was relatively flat. The two redheaded twins that Harry had learned were Weasley twins named Fred and George had started a snowball fight.

Smirking devilishly, Harry made his way around the fight and positioned himself out in the middle of nowhere, well away from the main body of the fight. Using his paws and tail to create a dip in the snow to hide himself, Harry crouched low, grateful that his fur was now white instead of the light tan it had been, regardless of his spots. Fluffing a little snow over him to aid in his camouflage, Harry let his magic spread out around him, smiling at its feeling of joy and happiness at being free. Imparting his intentions to his magic, Harry watched as two snowballs suddenly lifted off the ground and went flying over the grounds to smack both twins in the back.

"Hey!" They both cried as they shot up and started hopping up and down when the freezing snow fell down both their shirts and pants. Harry started hacking and wheezing in a facsimile of laughter.

"Foul! Who did that?" One of the twins said as he pulled out his wand and used a drying charm on his clothing. Harry absently thought he was George, though he was still having issues telling them apart.

"Yeah, we agreed no spells." The other one, whom Harry thought was Fred, said as he did the same as his twin.

"We didn't," one of the other kids said. Harry recognized her but didn't know her name since he did not hang out with her very often. She and the other kids that had been involved with the snowball fight were standing up with snowballs in their hands but no wands. "It was damn funny though to see someone pull a prank on you two of all people. Especially with the way you two jumped around."

"You'd jump too," George said with an annoyed scowl.

"If you had snow down your pants," Fred finished, with an identical scowl.

"Incoming!" Someone hollered just as a cloud of snowballs pelted the whole area.

Everyone dived for what little cover they could find, all of them ending up face first in the snow, which, of course, had been Harry's intention. Bolting from his hiding spot, Harry made it across the grounds in a few seconds. When he was close enough, Harry jumped and locked his legs, causing him to slide and shower the twins with snow and burying their heads. Harry paused to admire his work before simply sitting in the snow and waiting for everyone to recover from his assault. His magic was lapping around him in joy and playful eagerness and causing some of the snow around him to fluff and roll around him, though not enough for anyone to notice.

"Whoever did this is so going to pay." One of the twins grumbled as they finally lifted their head and started shaking the snow out of their hair and off his face. A playful growl caused him to pause and look up. Harry was standing there, his tail swishing back and forth and a mischievous glint lighting up his green eyes. "Why you little sneak!"

"Looks like you two finally met someone who could out prank you," someone said. Harry looked up to see the twins' friend Lee Jordan standing over them. "Or at least match you, though I would have preferred to have been left out of things." He added as he shook snow out of his sleeve.

"You're lucky we're going home tomorrow little Namir," Fred said with a mock scowl as he rubbed Harry's head in affection.

"Else we would certainly get you back for this." George added and then almost immediately regretted his words. A mound of snow came out of nowhere and buried him and Fred once more. Everyone started laughing hysterically.

"Brother Dearest," one of them said with their voice muffled greatly from the snow they were under and which Harry was now standing on. "I don't think we can let this one go."

"I'm afraid not Forge," the other said, sounding both disappointed and eager. "I dare say he has earned both our respect and animosity. I say we do his fur up in pink bows." Harry squeaked when he heard that and looked down at the mound of snow beneath him.

"Too cute," one said as they felt around for their wand, which had fallen out of their hands during Harry's second assault. "I say we find a way to transfigure him into a pink mouse."

Even though they were only playing, something Harry knew all too well, Harry still acted his part of a slightly frightened cat. When the twins started to move and get up, Harry leapt off the snow mound in the direction of the castle. He paused briefly to look over his shoulder at the twins and to leave them a parting prank. He grinned when he saw their hair done up to look like a cone with a pink bow tying it all together, each bow with a face sticking its tongue out. Everyone laughed, even the twins, though it was in a horrified way.

"We'll get you for this Namir!" They shouted in unison before getting up and starting after Harry.

Grinning like a loon, Harry ran for the castle, making sure to keep the twins well interested in their pursuit. He made it into the walls and quickly made for the Grand Staircase. The twins were so wrapped up in the act that they did not realize that they were showing off their new hairdo to the entire school, nor where they were headed. Therefore, they were quite surprised when they were forced to come up short when they entered the Defense Professor's office. Remus was at his desk, quill in hand and quite obviously in the middle of grading, with Namir perched on the edge of the desk next to him, his tail dangling off the edge and swishing back and forth playfully.

"Professor," they panted, out of breath from chasing Namir through the castle.

"Fred, George," Remus said, making no attempt to actually differentiate which twin was which. "I must say that is a very interesting hairstyle choice for you two, though it certainly fits your personality."

"You cheeky little bugger," Fred said, realizing what Harry had done. Harry merely shrugged, not repentant in the slightest. They had pranked him once or twice throughout the school year, harmless things meant to make even him laugh. This was just his way of paying them back. "Can you fix our hair Professor? I doubt Namir would do so right now."

"Why would you think that?" Remus asked in confusion, even as he pulled out his wand.

"We may have pranked him once or twice." George said hesitantly, not liking to have to admit to one of their pranks to a teacher.

"They were harmless though," Fred was quick to add when he saw a disapproving look start to crawl onto their professor's face. "We would never harm an innocent creature like Namir, especially since we thought he was helpless. Even he seemed to laugh at the pranks when he got over his shock."

"Hmmm," Remus hummed in thought as he turned to look at Harry, who gave a shrug and a bob of his head to indicate they were telling the truth. "Very well, though I suggest you be a little more careful in the future. Namir is obviously quite capable of retaliation."

"So we noticed," the twins said in unison with identical disgruntled expressions on their faces. Remus waved his wand a few times, one to diagnose and the other to attempt to return their hair to normal. "What?" They asked when Remus got a confused expression on his face, making it obvious that he had failed in his attempt to return their hair to normal.

"Well," Remus said slowly as he stared at them with a frown on his face. "I can identify the magic holding your hair like that easily enough but it appears resistant to counter charms."

"Oh come on Namir!" Fred practically wailed as he rushed forward to kneel next to Remus' desk so he and Namir were eye to eye.

"We can't go home like this!" George said as he came up next to his twin. "We'll never hear the end of it."

Harry started laughing in his wheezing way once again, quite obviously enjoying the situation. He was anything but cruel though and so asked his magic to return their hair to normal. Harry and Remus watched as the two sighed in relief and started feeling their hair, just to make sure their hair really was back to normal. After profusely thanking both Harry and Remus, the twins left the room to start packing for the trip home; never once noticing that part of their hair was dyed pink and in the shape of a bow on the back of their heads with a winking smiley face in the middle. It would fade within a few days but it was Harry's way of reminding them that he could prank with the best of them.

"You shouldn't have exposed yourself like that," Remus chastised as he turned to look at Harry, who was licking his feet to try and remove the snow and water. "If anyone had seen you it would've undermined the entire charade that's been set up to protect you."

"I was Namir the entire time," Harry defended himself after he moved to the couch and changed back. "I wouldn't risk my safety for a simple joke."

"Harry," Remus said after ensuring his door was securely closed. "An animagus cannot perform magic while in animal form."

"You saw for yourself that I fixed their hair." Harry retorted as he pulled out his wand and started practicing a few spells, namely transfiguration. While he had attended transfiguration with the other students, Severus had been the one to give him a few pointers. Harry had since managed the matchstick to needle transfiguration as well as the switching spell and was working on other transfigurations. "And I thought having a wand was supposed to make working magic easier. I find it harder."

Harry actually wasn't complaining. He, in fact, knew exactly why he was having issues using his wand. Fawkes had told him that now his magic was free to roam as it please, it was not in the best of positions to be channeled through a wand. Being channeled through a wand often made newly freed magic feel as if it were being chained once again, something it did not want. All Harry had to do, according to Fawkes, was patiently practice with his wand and magic, being especially careful to make sure his magic knew he was not trying to contain it once again. Harry's point in bringing this up was to simply plant the notion in Remus' head that Harry's magic was different than everyone else's.

"Do you mean to tell me," Remus said, turning his full attention to Harry, who was currently attempting to transfigure a mouse into a snuffbox. Unfortunately, the mouse refused to remain still long enough for him to try. "That you have not only managed to perform magic while in your animagus form but also wandlessly?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a casual shrug of his shoulders, seconds before his ears picked up footsteps outside the door and he quickly transformed back into Namir, letting the mouse scamper off.

"Moony?" someone called after a hesitant knock.

"Sirius?" Remus questioned in surprise, recognizing both the voice and the nickname. He flicked his wand and the door swung open, revealing a surprisingly well dressed Sirius Black in purple robes. "What're you doing here? I thought you weren't coming until the day after tomorrow." Even as he said it he got up and greeted the man in a warm hug.

"I know," Sirius said with a slight sigh, neither of them noticing the calculating look Harry, who was in his cat bed by the fireplace, was giving the newcomer. "But I couldn't wait to see you and I figured that since classes should be over for the term, it would be alright to drop by a little earlier. If you're busy, I can always go down to the Three Broomsticks and entertain myself."

"Don't be daft Padfoot!" Remus scoffed as he ushered the man over to the couch and sat him down, summoning tea from the house elves. "I was only grading. The Healers cleared you then? Sorry I couldn't visit; classes and all."

"I understand and they did," Sirius said as he rubbed his forehead before taking a cup of tea from Remus. "I'm still to have weekly meetings with them but I no longer have to be under their constant watch and care. I'm still a little jittery, which is to be expected. How have you been Remus?"

"Better than you I should say," Remus said jokingly, causing the other man to smile slightly. "But since I started working at Hogwarts things have been pretty good, especially since Peter was caught at the start of term."

"Ahem," the clearing of someone's throat drew everyone's attention. They all looked to the door to see Severus standing there. Black was instantly tense, on his feet, and wand in hand. Remus stood up as well and stepped in front of him. "Your potion, Lupin," Severus said, holding out the goblet he usually used to give Remus his wolfsbane.

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said calmly as he took the goblet, being sure to keep himself between Sirius and Severus.

"Namir," Severus said, looking to Harry and drawing Sirius' gaze to him for the first time. Harry grumbled but obediently got up and followed Severus out of the room. They heard Remus and Sirius arguing as they left but thankfully it did not travel far and they were soon out of earshot.

"How much longer do I have to take these?" Harry questioned in distaste after he had finished the last of the potions in Severus' personal quarters.

"I would chastise you and tell you to tough it out," Severus said in a neutral voice that told Harry he wasn't really annoyed with him. "But that was your last dose so there is no point. Your body is now free of toxins and foreign chemicals and is in pique condition for your age. If you have not noticed, you have even grown three inches and are now just above average for your age."

"Really?" Harry questioned in surprise and sounding ridiculously hopeful. He had not noticed any difference in either his height or his health. The thought of no longer being small for his age was exhilarating however and he couldn't help the smile that spread over his face.

"Yes, Harry," Severus said with just a small smile on his face, the boy's enthusiasm being too contagious for even him to resist. "Now, I must go to my office in case I am needed by one of the students but you are more than welcome to remain here and practice spells, though I expect you not to try anything that we have not been practicing yet."

"Thank you sir," Harry said, genuinely grateful for what the man had done for him.

"You are welcome," Severus said, obviously unused to gratitude or to returning it. He left shortly thereafter, leaving Harry to do as he pleased.

Knowing that much, if not all of the man's rooms and things were off limits to him by simple virtue of it being Severus' personal quarters, Harry opted to sit on the couch and meditate. He had been getting very good at it over the months, taking at least an hour out of each day to meditate as Fawkes had instructed. On impulse, Harry attempted to try something in regards to his magic. He knew it was sentient for they often communicated with each other, though not through the use of words. As such, Harry attempted to explain the situation to his magic, showing it images of how he needed to appear a normal wizard to those around him else they could try and chain both him and his magic.

It took the better part of an hour and various expressions that went back and forth but eventually his magic finally understood the situation and that Harry was not attempting to confine it once again. Smiling, Harry pulled himself out of his meditative trance and asked his magic for a mouse. He pulled his wand and attempted the transfiguration he had been working on for the past week or so. Technically it was work that was farther ahead than the actual class was but because of his sparse and private tutoring from both Severus and Remus he was farther along than everyone else would be. His freed magic helped as well of course.

Harry smiled happily when he spoke the incantation and made the proper wand movements over the mouse and felt his magic travel easily and gladly through his wand. The mouse shifted in his palm and he was now proudly holding a snuffbox. His pride and happiness made his magic purr and roll around the room in response, happy that he was happy. Not knowing the reversal to the transfiguration, Harry merely asked his magic to revert the mouse back to what it was supposed to be and then released the mouse onto the floor, where it scampered off into the shadows and, presumably, a hole in the wall.

Feeling exhausted, as was usual after a long session of communicating with his magic, Harry opted to simply lie down on the couch and take a nap, believing himself to be safe in Severus' private quarters since no one would dare to enter them without Severus' permission and presence. Not once did he notice the head that floated silently in the fireplace, its expression shocked and disbelieving.

–Scene Break–

"So have you seen Harry while you've been teaching?" Sirius asked some time after he had calmed down after Severus had dropped off Remus' wolfsbane for the full moon that was that night. "Is he doing alright?"

"Ah," Remus sighed, a little uncomfortable about attempting to explain this topic. He knew that Sirius was not going to like the situation and he knew that the other man would more than likely blow a gasket. "You always did know how to touch on the difficult topics didn't you Sirius?"

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked in sudden urgency, sitting up straight and looking as if he was about to run from the room and search for his godson. "Has something happened to him?"

"He's fine Sirius," Remus said, holding up a calming hand in an attempt to restrain the man. "I have seen him myself and he is fine, things are just a little complicated is all."

"How so?" Sirius questioned in confusion, reluctantly relaxing back into the couch, though there was still a great deal of tension in his body language. "He should be attending classes shouldn't he? What house is he in?"

"He isn't in a house, Sirius," Remus said and then immediately held up his hand again, demanding silence so he could continue, grinning internally at not having lost his touch to control his friend's mouth when they were alone and relatively calm. "I am going to be as truthful as I can with you on this Sirius but I need to know that you are not going to freak out and storm through the castle frightening the other students and possibly Harry as well."

"You'll probably want to seal the door then," Sirius said, surprising Remus and making the wolf a little leery of his friend. "I will attempt to do as you ask but I make no guarantees."

"Very well," Remus said as he waved his wand and sealed the door with a powerful locking charm. He was a little surprised by Sirius statement. There was a time when the man would have promised to remain calm only to blow up seconds after hearing something that upset him. "Now, I say again, Harry is perfectly fine. Life with his relatives, however, was not what anyone expected it to be. Hagrid was forced to personally take Harry his letter when the Dursleys attempted to deny him one."

"What?" Sirius demanded, on the verge of blowing up. A stern look from Remus had him taking deep breaths and attempting to calm down.

"I will not go into specifics on this but they had apparently been abusing him," Remus said while laying a restraining hand on Sirius shoulder. Little did he know that he was doing a great deal in keeping his friend grounded. "To the public at large, Harry is merely not attending Hogwarts and undergoing special training, which is why he did not show up for the sorting. With the exception of myself and Severus, the staff at Hogwarts believe that Harry is actually missing, having run from his relatives after they burned all of his school supplies. Only Severus and I know that Harry is here at the castle and very well protected."

"If he is at the castle then why isn't he in a house and attending classes?" Sirius questioned in confusion.

"Because he is an abused child, Sirius," Remus said in a calm tone, trying to soften the blow as much as he could. "Severus and I both agreed that he needed space to heal and grow into his own person, something he would not be able to do since he is so popular and publically known. He has been attending classes though and learning what he needs from us both as well as classes. You should be proud of him, Sirius. He may not officially be taking classes but he's ahead of everyone else in his year."

"He is?" Sirius questioned in surprise, his ire effectively being derailed.

"Yes," Remus said with a mischievous grin. "Little bugger is already working on the snuffbox transfiguration and several other spells that aren't taught until later in the year."

"Must get it from Lily," Sirius said with a small laugh, causing Remus to chuckle as well. "But if he's been attending classes then how is it that no one has recognized him?"

"That," Remus said with emphasis. "Is a question I shall leave for Harry to answer as you likely would not believe me if I told you. Now, it is late and I would like dinner before the moon rises. You're welcome to stay if you like. I obviously am not going to be making use of my bed tonight."

Sirius nodded to indicate that he was going to stay and sat back to digest everything Remus had told him while the other man ordered dinner for them both.

–Scene Break–

Severus entered the Great Hall for dinner to the noise and babble of the students that were all eager for the holidays. He ignored them mostly as he sat down to eat. His eyes traveled the hall briefly, searching for Namir. Severus frowned slightly when he noticed the snow leopard's absence. Harry had a tendency to alternate tables between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, sitting next to either Draco or Longbottom respectively. Occasionally, the boy would sit next to Granger or the twins (or both) at the Gryffindor table but that was usually at Breakfast or rarely at lunch, leaving dinner for either boy. Thinking the boy might have been with Lupin, as no wards had gone off to alert him to an accident in his quarters, Severus settled in and put the matter from his mind to be considered later if Harry did not show by morning.

"Severus," Dumbledore said several minutes into the meal to gain his Potion Master's attention. Severus acknowledged that Dumbledore was talking to him with a small grunt since his mouth was currently full. "I am curious. Have you made any progress at all towards locating Mr. Potter?"

"Not between lessons or grading," Severus answered readily and levelly, giving absolutely nothing away. He did wonder though, what had sparked the question since the old man had left the issue alone since Severus had suggested he end the search for the boy. "If I had, I would have come to you with either the boy or the information. Why?"

"Well, I flooed your rooms earlier when you did not answer the floo in your office," Dumbledore started in a quiet tone so Severus was the only one that could hear. "And there was a little boy sitting on your couch who looked almost exactly like Harry from Hagrid's memories but in better clothing."

"Some of my snakes occasionally ask for a quieter place than the library to do their homework." Severus explained calmly and without revealing his annoyance at having probably been discovered. It wasn't that he was trying to keep the boy from Dumbledore, he simply was not yet prepared to explain things to the man nor had he had time to prep Harry. "As such, I allow one of them to sit quietly on my couch and do homework if my office becomes too distracting. All of my rooms and cupboards and bookshelves are warded and sealed against anyone but myself from accessing them."

"Severus," Dumbledore said quietly as he erected a small privacy barrier around them to ensure their conversation remained private. "While I appreciate the ruse and the attempt to protect the boy, it is hardly appropriate for him to be staying in your rooms. If he is indeed in the castle, then let him be sorted and join the other students."

"He is not ready for that," Severus stated flatly, dropping the act all together, though he kept eating so as to keep others from suspecting something was up. "I have brought the subject up several times and each time he starts to panic, thinking that people will treat him differently because of who he is. And I'll have you know that he sleeps wherever he chooses and that is usually a cat bed in front of a small fire."

"He likes sleeping on a cat bed?" Dumbledore echoed; nonplused by what Severus had just told him.

"Quite," Severus said, silently enjoying his chance to poke fun at Dumbledore. The old man truly was too nosey for his own good. "He particularly likes the one in Lupin's office, citing that it is very soft and cloud like." Harry had actually said fluffy but Severus was not about to utter that word around anyone but himself. "He'll even occasionally sleep in the boy's dorms of either Slytherin or Hufflepuff so as to be near the friends he has managed to make."

"I think I'm missing something here," Dumbledore said after gaping like a fish for several moments and stuttering slightly.

"Yes you are," Severus said in a calm voice that only slightly cut into the older man. "Normally, I would happily inform you of the missing links but since you had the gall to insinuate that I was doing something inappropriate with an already abused student, I am not inclined to do so at the moment."

"Severus, be reasonable," Dumbledore said, sounding as if he was starting to fight off a headache. Severus merely smirked.

"Tell you what, I'll give you a hint," Severus said, absently realizing that he was, perhaps, taking just a little too much pleasure in doing this. "Mr. Potter is in the hall. I shall leave to you to attempt to locate him without raising everyone's suspicions."

It was true. Harry, as Namir, had walked into the hall appearing as if he had just woken from a nap and had trotted over to the Hufflepuff table, where he sat on the bench next to Longbottom and munched on the plate of meat and apple slices the boy had prepared and put in front of him. Severus had to admit that ever since becoming friends with Namir, Longbottom's confidence and performance had gone up, at least in potions. The boy no longer stuttered when he answered questions, unless he was taken by surprise, which most people were like.

"You enjoy making me suffer don't you," Dumbledore growled in annoyance, even as he scanned the students for anyone who looked like Harry Potter. He had to grudgingly admit that, however the boy was disguised it was a good one as no one else in the school had spotted anyone with the famous scar.

"Only when you've done something to deserve it," Severus commented offhandedly as he moved on to desert, something he rarely indulged in. "If you require hints let me know and I shall provide. You should be aware, however, that the points you receive drastically decrease with each one. And you have until the students start dispersing before I cease my assistance."

"There are days when I wonder about your sanity Severus," Dumbledore sighed in dismay as he rubbed his head while continuing to scan the students. "Honestly, this isn't a game."

"It is when there is no pressing danger and no harm in allowing the boy to remain in hiding as he has been for the past four months." Severus said with a shrug, indicating he was wholly unconcerned with the situation at hand. "If you truly believe he is in some sort of danger that I am unaware of than I shall, by all means, point him out and we will reassess the situation."

Dumbledore groaned in annoyance and leveled a sideways glare at his Potions Professor, which the man completely ignored. He may be a powerful wizard but truly, Dumbledore had nothing on the Dark Lord when it came to intimidation. The old man gazed out at the student body, trying to discern which one was Harry Potter. Beside him, Severus quietly ate his crème brûlée and wondered how dense someone had to be in order to not realize the obvious. He had done a fair bit of research in his spare time, pulling in a few small favors from some contacts he had abroad. There was no such creature on the planet, magical or otherwise, that even remotely resembled a Snow Leopard with leathery, dragon like wings. Granted, he was probably the only one in the castle that had actually done his research but the point still stands.

"Impossible," Dumbledore whispered, almost too quietly to hear.

"Give the man a prize," Severus remarked snidely as he took a bite of his crème brûlée. "You see why I said nothing sooner?"

"But how?" Dumbledore questioned in shock, not taking his eyes off Namir. "He's far too young and has never had any training."

"My understanding is that due to his abuse," Severus said, explaining his theory on the situation. "His magic took it upon itself to enact the animagus transformation in order to protect the boy as much as possible, altering things slightly to give him wings so he could flee if necessary. I can only assume that it was his owl that led him to Hogwarts."

"But that simply isn't possible," Dumbledore insisted, turning to look at Severus with a look of complete disbelief. "The animagus part I can see, a child's accidental magic can do things that would normally take years of study and practice, especially in such a situation, but to alter the very structure of the animagus form and making such a change permanent is completely unheard of!"

"I do not pretend to understand the mechanics of the situation," Severus replied in an annoyed tone. "I am merely making an educated guess as to what happened." Finished with his desert, Severus stood and prepared to leave. "I suggest that should you decide to confront the boy that you do not press the issue of him assimilating himself as one of the students. He is not ready."

Dumbledore sat in his seat, his half eaten meal forgotten as he stared in shock for the second time that night at one Harry Potter. Never, in his one hundred and ten years, had he ever heard of a child, abused or otherwise, not only mastering such a difficult form of magic as the animagus transformation was but into a completely impossible form as well. No person in history has ever been an animagus that was not a real life animal before. To change the genetic structure of something was entirely possible, after all, that was half the basis of transfiguration, but to alter it in such a way so that not only was the subject still healthy and whole but was capable of utilizing the change had never been seen before.

It truly was an amazing concept and deep in Dumbledore's brain, in the part that was always in professor and educational mode, he supposed that it had never been done before because no one had never even attempted or thought of trying such a thing. Dumbledore had seen firsthand the things that accidental magic could produce, sometimes dangerous and others magnificent, but this was beyond even his imagining. Either way, the revelation explained all the questions that he had about some of Namir's more human traits and tendencies.

"Albus." Minerva hissed suddenly, drawing him out of his shocked thoughts. He looked to her in confusion. "Are you going to make the holiday speech or not?"

"Wha-?" Dumbledore said in confusion before looking back out over the students to see them all staring at him expectantly. "Oh, yes." He said as he stood up to do just that and pushing thoughts of Harry Potter from his mind for the time being.

After the speech, Dumbledore watched them all file out before leaving the hall himself and heading back up to his office. He started to head to his rooms and prepare for some much needed rest but paused when his eyes alighted upon Fawkes, who was sleeping with his head under his wing. As if he felt the Headmaster's gaze, the firebird woke and lifted his head to give the man a slightly bleary eyed look that said something along the lines of _what?_

"Why didn't you tell me Namir was Harry Potter?" Dumbledore nearly demanded. Only the thought that he was speaking with a completely independent, powerful, and rather finicky magical creature kept his tone respectful… barely. The Headmaster stared in amused shock when he saw Fawkes actually roll his eyes in sarcasm before leveling him with a look that said he was being stupid. "I'm aware it was to protect him but I could at least have been informed. I would not have forced the boy into anything he was not ready for and I still won't."

Fawkes shrugged and gave a chirp as if to ask what the issue was then while also saying that he was respecting the boy's privacy. The fact that Fawkes had ulterior motives was beside the point and not worth going into at the present since the firebird was unaware of just how much the old man knew about Harry right now.

"I only want what is best for him given everything that has happened," Dumbledore said with a heavy sigh as he came up and stroked Fawkes warm feathers. "I only meant to try and give him a childhood and I ended up forcing him to endure abuse at the hands of those who should have cared for him. I do not know how to fix that."

Fawkes caught Dumbledore's eye and gave a small, sad chirp that said that it was impossible to fix such a thing. The firebird's gaze also conveyed that all that could be done now was to move on and protect the boy from future harm.

"You are right my old friend," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "I still wish to speak with him though, in a few days perhaps. I will not attempt to force him into anything but I wish to see if he fully understands the situation. I will also see if I cannot help in his private training upon occasion."

Fawkes chirped in encouragement before tucking his head back under his wing and going back to sleep, effectively ending the conversation. Dumbledore sighed heavily before making to his way to his rooms and getting ready for bed.

–Scene Break–

Harry wandered through the halls of Hogwarts, heading towards the library and intent on doing some reading since he was bored senseless. All of his friends but Hermione had ended up staying at the castle but he was not in the mood to play with any of them and Draco was wrapping up the homework that was given them for the holidays so he did not have to worry about it later. Harry was actually a little surprised by his friendship with the young blond. In the store the boy had seemed rude and very much like Dudley but during the times when Harry spent time alone with the boy showed a different side. The blond had even taken to talking to him, as if they were extremely close friends. The tales of the boy's home life, while different, reminded Harry of his own life.

Sighing in concern, Harry looked up at the bookshelves and scanned the titles of the books in the particular section he had wondered to. It took him a few minutes to find a book he wanted to read. Finding one on medieval history that doubled as a basic alchemy text, Harry used his magic to pull the book off the shelf. Normally he would take it to a table and read there but he doubted the library would be getting as much foot traffic as it usually did so he decided to simply settle on the floor in front of the shelf and read right there.

"Enjoying your reading there?" A voice sounded from behind Harry, causing him to start in surprise. It was rare for him to be caught unaware when he was in his animagus form. He ended up jumping in the air and spinning around. "My apologies dear Namir, I had no intention of scaring you." Harry, who resembled a white Halloween cat, slowly calmed upon seeing the Headmaster. He meowed in forgiveness before sitting down and giving Dumbledore his attention, since the man had obvious come to speak with him for some reason. "I had wondered though, if you would join me in my office? I wished to discuss something with you."

Harry meowed in agreement with a small shrug of his shoulders, seeing no reason to deny the man his request. He pawed at the book he had been reading, silently asking the man to do something about it since he restrained himself from openly using magic so freely. Dumbledore chuckled in amusement before bending down and scooping up the book. He led the way out of the library and through the halls towards his office. Dumbledore gestured to a large, overstuffed chair for Namir to sit in as he moved around his desk.

"Now, please do not be alarmed, but I am aware that you are Harry," Dumbledore said in a calm tone. Despite his attempt to project a calming aura and to not incite panic in the boy, Harry still leaned back in surprise and a little wariness.

"How did you know it was me?" Harry questioned after transforming back into himself. "You didn't recognize my eyes like Remus and Severus."

"I," Dumbledore started to respond, only to pause as he considered Harry's words. He then wanted to smack himself for not noticing earlier. It was such an obvious yet subtle sign that he had no idea how he had missed it. "I saw you practicing your transfiguration in Severus' rooms the other day."

"But you weren't in the room." Harry protested in confusion.

"No," Dumbledore agreed with a soft nod. "I was using the fireplace to contact Severus' private rooms since he had not been in his office at that time. It was then that I saw you on his couch practicing your transfiguration." Dumbledore smiled slightly when Harry looked to his fireplace doubtfully. "I shall explain in detail in a little while. Right now, I wish to discuss, merely discuss and nothing more, why it is you fear joining the rest of the student body as yourself rather than as Namir. Please understand that I am not trying to pressure you into anything. I am merely trying to understand."

"I saw the way everyone treated me when Hagrid took me shopping," Harry explained easily, having gone over this very conversation twice already. "It was like I was their god or something and very unnerving. I don't want to be treated like that. I just want to be treated like me and I'm not some superman or anything. I can get that in my animagus form."

"That is not an unreasonable desire," Dumbledore said with a sad sigh, sorry that the boy had to go through what he was going through. "If it is your desire to continue attending classes as you have been then I see no reason why you cannot continue as such. However, I think you should at least consider telling your friends. If they are truly your friends and truly care about you, then they will understand." Seeing the apprehensive and almost panicky look coming across Harry's face, Dumbledore hastened to add, "I am not trying to force you into anything you do not want to do, Harry. If you do not want to tell them then that is your choice. I just think you should think about it. Whatever your choice may be, you have support in Remus and Severus, as well as me."

To the surprise of the Headmaster, instead of responding, Harry suddenly transformed and assumed a poise of an unconcerned feline that was lounging in a stream of sunlight that was warming the chair and dozing, his tail idly flicking up and down. Seconds later, a knock sounded at his door and Dumbledore looked up in further surprise. Giving Harry a searching look, Dumbledore bade the person entrance.

"Albus," Minerva said as she entered the room, a newspaper clutched in her hand. "Have you seen the paper?"

"Yes, there was nothing overly concerning in it," Dumbledore replied, seeming perturbed by Minerva's tense demeanor.

"Not in the morning addition, no," Minerva replied as she held out the paper for Dumbledore to take, which he did reluctantly. "They issued a rush copy with one specific story in mind."

"Oh dear," Dumbledore said in dismay. The title on the front page said everything that needed to be said. The press had found out that Harry Potter was technically considered missing. They had stated that he, Dumbledore, had informed the student body that Harry was off undergoing special training but there were quotes from students expressing how they noted distinct disappointment and fear in the teachers when the boy failed to show for the sorting. "Would you please fetch Severus and Remus for me Minerva? I need to discuss things with them."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, after Minerva nodded and left. In response, Dumbledore showed him the front page of the paper. "Am I in trouble?"

"Goodness no!" Dumbledore said emphatically, alarmed that the boy would think so. "This merely means that the situation has altered slightly. It does not, however, mean you are in trouble. Nor does it take away your choice in revealing yourself or not."

A few minutes later, after Harry had fallen into a thoughtful silence, Remus and Severus entered the office. Dumbledore contemplated briefly why Harry had not transformed back into Namir when they knocked before entering when he could not have known who exactly was behind the door. His thoughts were diverted, however, when he handed over the paper in explanation as to why they had been summoned.

"I thought," Severus drawled as he passed off the paper to Remus after merely glancing at the title. "That we had things controlled enough to prevent something such as this."

"As did I, Severus," Dumbledore replied evenly, just as upset as his potions master. "I know for a fact that no press agents have been on the premises and I seriously doubt that any of the students who returned home provided any interviews, otherwise there would be specific names." He paused as he collected his thoughts, staring out the window as he did so. "I believe either, rumor simply spread enough for the press to catch wind, someone has been intercepting students letters, or someone directly and discretely informed the press."

"Neither situation allows us to control the leak," Remus remarked as his eyes continued to scan the article, searching for any pertinent information. "At this point, it is rather pointless to speculate over how it happened. We should be discussing what we're going to do now that the press has caught wind of this."

"The Ministry will more than likely start up an investigation to try and figure out whether or not Mr. Potter actually is missing," Severus theorized, glancing over his shoulder to see Harry sitting in one of the overstuffed chair, silent and thoughtful. "It will, undoubtedly, lead to inquires about Mr. Potter's home life. If we wish to prevent that from happening then we must come up with a plausible excuse for the situation."

"Why not just make the lie the truth?" Harry questioned suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "That way you don't have to come up with a plausible lie."

"What do you mean Harry?" Remus asked as he sat in a chair next to Harry.

"Well," Harry said, a little perturbed and uncomfortable at suddenly being the center of everyone's attention. "You told everyone that I'm somewhere receiving special training. Technically, it's not a lie. I'm receiving my magical training here at Hogwarts." He paused as he saw the effect his statement had on everyone who was listening. "We can tell the Heads of Houses where and who I am and merely explain that the fewer people who know where exactly I am the safer I will be, especially given that they know what happened with the man in the turban earlier in the year. You can explain that not everyone on the staff is informed for safety's sake."

"Mr. Potter," Severus said in a slightly amused tone. "You would make an excellent Slytherin." Harry blushed and ducked his head, unused to such praise.

"I believe Harry's plan will work," Dumbledore said with a beaming smile, doing his best to bury the discomfort he felt at Harry's lack of confidence in himself. "I do not wish to appear as if I'm trying to rush things but the sooner we act on this the better things will be. I am, frankly, surprised I have not received a floo call from the Minister yet."

"Perhaps he has simply been lazy about reading it," Severus suggested in a disgusted tone, one that clearly communicated his thoughts on the Minister of Magic. Harry giggled quietly. "If you are prepared, Harry, I shall fetch the other Heads of House."

"Um," Harry said, causing the man to pause and look back at him with a look of calm openness. Bolstered slightly by the man's receptive attitude, as he often was, Harry continued with what he wanted to say. "Could you, maybe, bring my friends as well?"

"Lupin," Severus said, turning his attention to the werewolf. "Perhaps you can collect the Heads of House while I see to Mr. Potter's friends."

Remus nodded and stood up, gripping Harry's shoulder tightly in support before following Severus from the room. They traveled side by side for a short distance before Remus broke off to find Minerva since she was the closest. Severus marched up the staircases towards the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady gave him a slight scowl, uncomfortable with a Slytherin being in her tower, but obediently swung open when he provided the password. He suppressed a sneer at the color scheme and turned towards the nearest student, which just so happened to be Fred Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley," Severus said to the stunned boy, who stared up at the Potions Master as if he had three heads. "You and your doppelganger's presence is requested in the Headmaster's office. You may be assured that neither of you are in trouble for any prank you may or may not have done recently."

"Is something wrong with our family Professor?" Fred questioned, even as George came down from the dormitory with a stack of books. He froze when he saw Severus standing a few feet from the portrait hole and talking to his twin.

"No," Severus said definitively, his voice carrying a reassuring edge, which was rare for him. "Everything and everyone is fine. The Headmaster merely wishes to discuss something with you and your twin."

The look on Severus' face clearly said that while everything was indeed fine he was not going to divulge any details. The twins glanced at each other briefly before falling into line next to Severus and marching from the common room. Severus led the way down to the basement and towards the Hufflepuff common room. Luckily for him, as he had no idea how to enter the common room, Pomona was just leaving the common room.

"Pomona," Severus said as he came up. "Has Lupin come to see you yet?"

"No," Pomona said, sounding a little surprised to see Severus stalking down the corridor with the Weasley Twins following behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly," Severus said, mindful of the twins' sharp ears behind him. "If you would please fetch Mr. Longbottom for me, all will be explained in the Headmaster's office shortly."

Pomona nodded before ducking back into the common room and reappearing with Neville beside her. Severus collected Neville and led the way towards the dungeons, telling the students to wait a fair distance from the Slytherin common room so they could not attempt anything on his Slytherin's later. After retrieving Draco, Severus took the students back up to the main floor and then to the stone gargoyle where the Headmaster's office was locate. He paused outside before giving the password and turned to the students.

"What you will learn in this meeting is to be held in the strictest of confidences." Severus stated in a hard voice, making it clear that there would be severe punishments for those who disobeyed his words. "You are to tell no one of what you learn. You are being told at the request of the primary person involved in the situation. I expect all of you to think before you speak and not to judge on things you are unaware of." Here, his look lingered briefly on Draco, telling the blond that the situation might look one way when it was actually another.

Severus gave each of the children before him a particularly hard glare before he turned and whispered the password to the gargoyle. They moved up the staircase and entered the Headmaster's office. The other house heads were in the office standing around and looking miffed, likely because Dumbledore had not said anything to them. Remus was in the back of the office and looked to be comforting and encouraging Harry.

"Severus, good," Dumbledore said with a small smile as he stood up from his desk. "This letter just arrived from the Minister. He is being surprisingly calm about the matter, though he is still insisting on answers to the situation. I expect that if I do not reply to him soon, he will be making a visit."

"Then it's a good thing he's ready," Remus said as he stood up and rounded Dumbledore's desk, Namir at his side.

"Splendid," Dumbledore said before addressing everyone else present. "Now, I know everyone is very curious as to what exactly is going on but I ask that you try and refrain from asking too many questions as I'm sure many, if not all of them will be answered as the story is told. Namir, if you would do the honors of starting off this little soirée."

Namir appeared to take a deep breath to steady himself before he changed back into Harry Potter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe except for my OC's

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to post. I've had a very busy month and have had little time to do any writing. Postings for **The Fourth Rider **and **Revenge **will hopefully be finished soon and should be up at that time. Happy readings and please review.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Harry sat on a thick, soft couch that the Headmaster had conjured in his office and off to the side. On either side of him sat one of the Weasley Twins. Neville sat in a chair angled in front of them and Draco was sitting on the arm of the chair, not particularly feeling like sitting in his own piece of furniture. When Harry had first transformed there had been dead silence from everyone in the room who had not known who he had been. It had been broken a few minutes later by none other than the twins, who had simultaneously expressed how cool they had thought the situation. The teachers then began pestering Dumbledore with questions until he silenced them with a look and began to explain the situation.

While the professor explained things, Harry's friends listened intently, though he could tell the twins didn't care one way or another how Harry had come to Hogwarts the way he had or that he had been an animagus at all. They merely thought it was cool that he was an animagus. Neville, like the twins, had been almost instantly accepting of the fact that Harry Potter had been his feline friend for the past four months and, true to his house colors, had declared, quietly of course, that he would always consider Harry his first and closest friend, no matter the situation.

Draco had been a little harder to read at first. He had appeared as if he wanted to protest but Severus' hand on his shoulder silenced him. The blond then continued to listen to what Dumbledore was telling the other staff, touching briefly on Harry's abuse since it was the primary reason Harry had disappeared. When the adults' conversation devolved into how they were going to continue to fool the public by simply not fooling them, Draco had come over and given Harry a hug, saying into Harry's ear that he understood and didn't hold anything against him.

"So are you going to be sorted?" Neville asked from his seat in the chair and looking genuinely curious.

"I don't think so," Harry said with a shake of his head. "It would defeat the entire purpose of telling the public that I was somewhere receiving special training and my remaining as Namir during school."

"So the rumor that one of the teachers had been discovered possessed by the Dark Lord before school started," Draco said with a calculating look on his face. He gestured briefly to the teachers before continuing. "The one they're basing this entire charade on, that actually happened? I thought the _Prophet _was merely spouting its usual nonsense."

"No, it happened," Harry assured with a nod. "I was there and saw the entire duel." Not particularly wanting to draw any more attention to himself than he already had, Harry left out the fact that he had actually assisted in the duel, resulting in Quirrell's successful defeat. "I want to thank you guys. I was really nervous about how you would react when you found out. I wasn't trying to deceive any of you by not telling you who I was, it was just easier to be Namir than it was to be Harry Potter and have everyone staring at me."

"We understand, Harry," Draco said with a reassuring nod. "I'm sure any one of us would have done the same in your shoes."

"Yeah," Neville agreed as he shifted nervously. Harry was then reminded that Neville's home life was nearly as bad his own. He, like Draco, had talked to him as Namir and occasionally talked of his life before Hogwarts. Some of the stories had incensed Harry to the point where he felt the urge to go hunting, something he had never felt before.

"Harry," Remus said as he came over from where the other teachers were. "Now that we've all hammered out the details, Dumbledore is going to call the Minister and have a meeting to straighten things out. It's doubtful but I want to prepare you for the possibility of him wanting to see you. If he does you should not have to say anything, merely show yourself. However, things are a little unpredictable at the moment."

"I understand Remus," Harry assured with a nod. "I know the story; if he asks me questions I know how to answer them."

"I would be surprised," Remus said with a fair bit of amusement in his voice. "But you've given bigger ones before. It's lunch time so why don't you guys go get something to eat while we deal with the Minister."

Harry smirked slightly before transforming and hopping off the couch. To everyone in the room, even those who were about to follow him, it appeared as if the door opened of its own volition but it was actually Harry's magic. It often opened doors for him when he was in his animagus form, since he could not open the doors himself. The other kids, assuming various different and highly plausible scenarios to explain the situation, none of which were accurate, got up and followed Harry out of the room and down towards the Great Hall. Just in time too as the fireplace flared green just as the door clicked shut behind the Weasley Twins.

"Albus!" the person in the flames called loudly and rather annoyingly. "Albus! I sent a letter off over four hours ago; you should have received it long before now. Why haven't you responded?"

"Minister," Albus said in way of greeting, though his tone held a slightly chastising edge to it. "It may be the holidays but this is still a school and takes quite a bit of attention to run, just like the Ministry. Now, why don't you come through and we'll straighten this whole mess out."

"Why does the public seem to think that Harry Potter is missing?" Fudge demanded once he had walked through the fireplace. "The paper said he did not show up for the sorting in September."

"That is because he did not," Dumbledore explained calmly as he sat back down behind his desk and gestured for Fudge to take a seat. "Given what happened in August with Quirrell and Voldemort, I thought it prudent to keep Mr. Potter out of the general public for his own safety. It wasn't until after the sorting that I thought it prudent to inform the staff of my decision. Since the fewer people who knew the better, I informed only the Heads of House. Mr. Lupin here discovered by chance when he came to my office one evening when I was giving Mr. Potter a test."

"Albus," Fudge said in a rather condescending voice that set everyone in the room on edge. "We both know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead and gone. Whatever it is that happened over the summer did not involve him. There is no reason to conceal the boy. He is a prominent public figure and needs to show himself to the public." The stubborn look on the Minister's face clearly stated that he was doing everything within his power to remain in denial. Suddenly, all of the articles in the paper lately made a bit more sense. There had been a slight undertone of denial about what had happened in August. "They are starting to demand that we send out our entire Auror force to search for him. If he was actually missing then I would certainly do so but if he is as well as you say then end this. Sort him and have him attend classes like everyone else." Believing the matter to be settled, Fudge stood up and started to leave.

"No," Dumbledore said firmly, causing the Minister to freeze mid-step halfway between the desk and the fireplace. "You are currently standing in a building full of ghosts Minister, you know full well that people are capable of lingering in our world and there have been hundreds of documented cases of possession over the years. With the exception of Mr. Lupin and yourself, everyone in this room not only witnessed the possession but dueled against the possessed professor. Every Auror and Unspeakable at your Ministry is capable of detecting even the most expertly of modified memories. You have no plausible cause to stick your head in the sand and deny the situation."

"You-know-who is gone Albus!" Fudge exclaimed rather frantically as he spun around to face the Headmaster, a wild-eyed look of panic on his face.

"And yet," Severus drawled in a lazy voice that held a disgusted and angry edge. "He still reigns supreme and controls this entire country with his iron fist." Everyone turned to look at him, some in confusion, others in mild amusement, easily seeing the man's point. "Did it ever occur to you, Minister, that whether or not the Dark Lord is 'gone', as you say, that this is precisely what he wants? Everyone living in terror of him, so terrified of him to even speak his name, with every witch and wizard cowering in caves with their heads buried so far in the ground that they no longer know whether they are human or a plant and cannot defend themselves when a real threat comes along, whether it is from him or not." Severus paused to allow his words to sink into the Minister's thick skull before adding, in a much silkier voice. "Think about it, Minister. How you act now will affect the public's view on you should the threat be proven true. You could be hailed as a hero if you choose right… or go down in history as the man who destroyed Britain and handed it over on a silver platter because he chose to bury his head in the sand with everyone else."

"Y-you," Fudge stuttered as he fidgeted in place. It was quite obvious that Severus' words had an effect and that Fudge was actually using his brain now. "You say the boy is safe and accounted for?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said since the question had been directed at him. "He has even made a few friends in the other students, who have been informed and duly spelled for secrecy so they do not accidentally tell someone and spoil the entire charade." Here, Dumbledore subtly glanced between Remus and Severus when Fudge wasn't looking, quietly asking for them to ensure that was taken care of.

"Very well," Fudge said with only a hint of reluctance to his voice. "I shall take care of the public."

"Thank you, Cornelius," Dumbledore said with a happy nod. They all watched and waited as Fudge moved back to the fireplace and returned to the Ministry. "Well done Severus."

"How that man attained his position is beyond me," Severus groused in disgust. "His predisposition towards being manipulated is appalling."

"That is probably why he was elected." Minerva said in a rare showing of her Slytherin tendencies.

"Likely," Severus drawled in a heavy sigh, one dripped in disgust and stress. "I shall see to the silence of Mr. Potter's friends."

–Scene Break–

Harry yawned and stretched as he came out of a dead sleep. He was lying at the foot of Draco's bed in the Slytherin dorms. Nothing in particular had woken him, he had just finished sleeping. The sounds of deep, heavy breathing came from the other boy's in the dorm clearly said that everyone else had yet to do so. After another yawn, Harry glanced around the room and saw a fair sized pile of presents at the foot of each bed and he realized that it was Christmas morning. Suddenly wide awake and feeling very excited, Harry stood up and looked down at the pile in front of Draco's bed.

Searching out a specific package, Harry leaned down and gripped his present by its string in his mouth and pulled it up. He made his way to the top of the bed and gently pawed at Draco's shoulder. When that garnered nothing more than a slight twitch in Draco's breathing, Harry gently stepped onto Draco's chest and sat down and put his paw on the blond's chin. His efforts were rewarded when Draco grunted and opened his eyes. He glanced around for a few minutes before looking down to see what was sitting on him.

"Namir," Draco chuckled as he sat up, causing Harry to move back to the bed. "Merry Christmas silly."

Harry released his present as Draco rubbed his head affectionately. Draco chuckled at the green and silver wrapping with little animated snakes on it but obligingly opened the package. Surprise laced his features when he saw inside the box. He reached in and pulled out a little figurine that Harry had ordered from a muggle catalog with the help of Remus. It was a dragon huddled over a cauldron in the midst of stirring and adding an ingredient. As Draco looked and examined, the little figurine became animate. Small streams of smoke trailed up from the dragon's nose and potion started bubbling and fizzing. Draco was startled and almost dropped the figurine but managed to hold onto it. He was even more surprised when the dragon looked up at him in annoyance before going back to its brewing.

"This is wonderful Namir," Draco said in wonder as he watched the figure brew. "I had no idea they made things like this. You will have to tell me where you found this."

Harry purred in happiness, glad that Draco liked his gift. He curled up and watched as the blond opened the rest of his presents, receiving various different presents ranging from books to sweets from everyone Draco knew. When he was finished, Harry left to wait in the common room while Draco got dressed and then went to the Great Hall for breakfast, silently hoping that his other friends liked their gifts as well. The round table that took up the center of the hall was nearly empty when Harry and Draco entered. Few were up this early and those that were, were still waking up and getting ready or opening their presents. The only ones that were up and in the Great Hall were a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Halfway through his plate of bacon, sausage, and berries, Harry looked up to see the rest of the students who stayed at the castle for the holidays filing in and sitting down to eat. Neville sat next to him and whispered a quiet thank you for his gift, a rare book on Herbology that Harry had found in a Flourish and Blotts catalog. Harry grinned and swished his tail before finishing his meal. The twins he had got another rare book on spell crafting, figuring they could use it to improve their pranks and jokes. He had received enthusiastic hugs for that one. Hermione had got a personalized schedule planner but he would give it to her in person when she returned from the holidays and he had a chance to explain things to her.

"Harry," Fawkes' voice sounded just as said boy was preparing to leave the Great Hall with his friends. The firebird swooped down over their heads and landed on the table in front of him and the other's, all of whom stared at the phoenix in amazed wonder. "I wish you to show you something. Please come with me."

"But," Harry hesitated, looking to his friends in concern and, admittedly, not wishing to leave since he had planned on spending the day with them. "Now that they know who I am, won't they wonder where I'm going?"

"I have discussed things with my human," Fawkes said calmly, understanding Harry's hesitancy. "He will make sure your friends understand things and I have assured him that you will be back by dinner so you can spend Christmas dinner with your friends."

"Alright," Harry said, only mildly disappointed that he did not get to spend the bulk of Christmas with his friends. His disappointment was tempered slightly by his curiosity at what Fawkes wanted to show him.

Harry stood up and rubbed up against Draco and Neville, in lieu of a hug, gave the twins parting glances, and stood up to follow Fawkes. The phoenix led the way towards the rafters and then out the windows. Thankfully, the weather was not too terrible so their flying went easily enough. The clouds over head did threaten a new snowfall but not a snow storm. Fawkes took Harry towards the mountains, causing Harry's curiosity to grow once more since they were approaching the spot where Fawkes first told him what magic was supposed to be rather than what it had become.

"Little did the Founders know," Fawkes said as he directed them towards a cave that Harry had not noticed the first time he had been there. "That this whole area was once an entire wizarding city during the Great Era. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of buildings, castles, houses, and even skyscrapers stretched over this entire land for miles. Some constructions floated, enabling the owner or inhabitants to shift things to their will." Fawkes landed outside the cave and gestured for Harry to follow on foot into the cave's interior. "During the Great Wars the city was nearly eradicated. The magic from both the city and the war mingled and settled, permeating the land over the centuries. It is the reason the grounds of the castle prevent anyone from Apparating into or out of the grounds. The Founders merely found a way to tap into the latent magic in the land, allowing them to manipulate it."

"Is that also the reason the stairs in the Grand Staircase constantly move?" Harry questioned in curiosity. He glanced around the cave as he followed the firebird deeper into the bowels of the mountain, his feline eyes having no issue with the darkness, yet. They were still near the mouth of the cave so there was some light to see by, faint as it was.

"Partially," Fawkes said in mild amusement. "The magic on the grounds is half bound and half free. It enjoys messing with the stairs to pass the time since it is one of the few things it can do on its own. Again, though, because the Founders found a way to manipulate the magic the Headmaster could cease the magic and put the stairs into a fixed state."

The firebird paused suddenly, causing Harry to almost bump into him. Suddenly, Fawkes started radiating a faint light which allowed Harry to see much better. What he saw nearly caused him to faint dead away. An endless cavern stretched before them and went on for what appeared to be miles with no end. A city of stone filled the hallowed out mountain, if not the entire range. It was easily a hundred times larger than London, which Harry barely managed to catch a glimpse of when Hedwig had led him away from the Dursleys'.

"This was part of that very city," Fawkes explained calmly, his beady gaze traveling the thousands of buildings before them. "It was built by and for those who preferred darker dwellings for experimentation or for a simple personal reference. It is the largest surviving relic of the Great Era, preserved by magic herself in remembrance of the Great Era. Come."

Fawkes took off and Harry quickly followed, lest he loose his only source of light. They glided effortlessly over the stone city. Harry could feel magic pulsing through the very air like currents in water. It felt almost happy and playful and it was most certainly aware of Harry's presence. It licked against his magic like an excited puppy and Harry's magic delighted itself by playing back, creating little puffs of light that swirled in various patterns.

"Because magic herself has preserved and protected this place," Fawkes said from in front of Harry as they glided towards one of the largest structures around them. "Only those she deems worthy may even so much as notice the cave entrance. You have been granted entrance because of the promise you show, the openness you have shown towards the truth about magic, and your youthful innocence."

"I'm assuming there's something down here," Harry remarked, seeing no reason to comment on Fawkes' words given that it was essentially a rehash of things the firebird had already told him.

"And your startling ability for insights and guessing," Fawkes added with a chirp in amusement as he looked over his wing at Harry, who would've blushed had he not been covered in fur. "Yes, there is something down here. It is something that was sealed off from the world the minute the city was emptied during the wars. For millions of years it has sat down here, waiting for one such as yourself to make use of it once more."

"What is it?" Harry questioned in curiosity.

"The Library," Fawkes said as he flew in through a window in the middle of the building, which happened to be in the center of the city, and landed on a railing. The second Harry entered to find his own landing spot, light lit up the entire room, illuminating everything. Vast expanses of books, bookshelves, and stairs filled the entire building head to toe. There was no end to it and Harry had to force himself to land before he fell from shock. "This was and is the largest library on the planet and to ever exist in human history. The library at Alexandria came close but it was a feeble attempt to recreate this place and not nearly as well guarded. Scholars the world over would flock here by the hundreds to pool their research or look for answers to some age old riddle or simply to study and learn. No other place on earth, then or now, holds as much information as The Library or as much _accurate_ information. In here you will find firsthand accounts of the man who invented potions or the very first mage. Both knew more about their areas of expertise than anyone else. Their understanding for their crafts was instinctual and fundamental. They led the way to some of the greatest discoveries your race had ever made."

"There aren't words," Harry whispered in shock as he crouched on top of a bookshelf and looked down. There appeared to be no end to the depth the building went to and bookshelves filled the way.

"Even if you lived forever, I doubt you would managed to get through even half of these books," Fawkes said, a hint of awe to his voice as well as a tone that suggested the bird was watching ancient memories that only he could see. "In any case, you do not have the time to riffle through anything here and now. I brought you here simply so you knew that you had the means in which to further your magical abilities beyond what the world above would limit you to. You may, however, take with you one book, only one, back to the surface to read at your leisure. If I may, I would advise you to take one on fundamental magics. Any one of those types of books will help you improve your understanding, communication, and usage of your magic."

"Sure," Harry said, drawing out the word. He was still in shock and staring at the millions of books around him and had only just managed to pay attention to what the firebird had been saying. Shaking himself from his stupor and turned towards Fawkes, silently asking him to lead the way to where the books he suggested were.

Fawkes chuckled in amusement but obliged the boy and took off and flew down a few levels. The soft, golden glow that surrounded them and radiated from the very walls of The Library illuminated the thousands of stacks, racks, and shelves of books and Harry once again found himself staring downward in an attempt to locate the bottom of the structure. There wasn't one as far as he could see. There was simply no end to the vast depth of The Library. It had obviously been expanded with magic to be larger on the inside than it was on the outside, something Harry found truly fascinating.

"So what was this place called?" Harry asked as he looked upon the shelf Fawkes had led him to. All the titles, though covered in a thick layer of dust, had some variation of fundamental magic, though one particular book had the title _**My Magic and Me. **_It reminded him of a self-help book he had seen in a muggle library when he had managed to go on his own since none of his relatives had any interest in books.

"The library itself is simply called The Library," Fawkes answered easily as he patiently waited for Harry to choose a book to take with him back to the surface. "No one saw fit to give it any sort of grand or unique name, the pride of it being that it quite simply is _The_ Library. The one everyone wanted to go to for all their needs. The city was once called Larrthóir and was the capital of the entire planet. Everyone, muggle and magical, would come and go from this place, seeking knowledge and wisdom or a place to call their own. You could have been a pauper from the poorest place on the planet but it wouldn't matter if you came to Larrthóir for there was always work to be done in this city and never enough hands to do it all."

"It sounds like a wonderful place," Harry commented with only just a hint of jealousy in his voice. Using his magic he plucked one of the thickest totems from the shelf titled _**The Path of Magic: The Basics**_. It was a thick book, almost bigger than Harry was, but that was the reason Harry had chosen it. He had no idea when he would get a chance to come down here again and the book looked very promising. "I wish I could have seen it."

"You would have loved it Harry," Fawkes said in a remembering and awed tone as he took off again and led the way back towards the surface. "Perhaps one day such a city will return, though it is impossible to recreate the past."

The two flew back over the buried city and through the cave opening. Harry had to shield his eyes and blink several times once they got back out under the open sky. It wasn't horrendously bright out but compared to the darkness of the mountain cavern it was like staring straight into the sun after just waking up from a dead sleep. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that it was snowing relatively heavy. Thankfully, there was no wind and the snow was simply coming down rather heavy. All the same, Harry used his magic to erect a protective barrier around the book that was trailing behind him to ensure the snow didn't do any damage.

"Did they use wands during the Great Era?" Harry questioned randomly, turning this head to Fawkes. He snickered slightly in amusement when he saw the snowflakes turning back into water and then steam as they came into contact with Fawkes' feathers.

"Surprisingly yes," Fawkes said after a moment of surprised thought. "However, they were not as commonly used then as they are today. They were mostly used to help those undergoing apprenticeships or those with a poor connection with their magic and needed a way to channel it. Wands were much more effectively made back then and more effective in their use."

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned in confusion. His wand seemed fabulous and extremely useful once he managed to get his magic to cooperate and channel itself through the eleven inches of holly.

"Well," Fawkes said as they reached Hogwarts and quickly flew in through the open window of the Headmaster's office, Harry shaking to rid his fur of the water and snowflakes. "Today, wands are designed to actively pull on a person's magic in order to get it to perform magic, increasing its resistance and overall feeling of being chained and trapped. During the Great Era wands acted as an open channel for one's magic to flow through and allowing the witch or wizard a much finer control over their spells."

"Just in time my boys," Dumbledore's voice sounded, drawing their attention and preventing Harry from commenting on Fawkes' answer to his question. "A storm is about to roll in and give us a few feet of fresh snow."

"I noticed," Harry commented after transforming into himself. He ran his hand through his hair, causing it to slick slightly since it was still wet from the snow. "Though I doubt Fawkes would have had any trouble. The snow just melts off his feathers."

"Oh yes," Dumbledore chuckled in amusement as he glanced at the firebird, who was now perched on his perch and grooming himself. "I have complained about that to him many times in the past. I've yet to manage to create a spell that will replicate the effect." Fawkes chirped and Harry and Dumbledore shared a smile, though Harry's was a little more thoughtful. "Now, it is just past lunch, why don't you go find yourself something in the kitchen before joining your friends, who are in Professor Lupin's quarters enjoying their gifts and waiting for your return."

"Perfect," Harry said with a grin before transforming back into Namir and trotting out the door, an excited tilt to his gait. Dumbledore chuckled but cut himself short when he saw the book floating after Harry.

"What're you up to my old friend?" Dumbledore questioned as he turned to look at Fawkes with a confused frown. He received a nonchalant and seemingly innocent chirp in response. Dumbledore sighed. "Keep your secrets you old codger," Fawkes chirped indignantly and glared at the Headmaster, who ignored it. "As long as he is safe and well trained before Voldemort can get his hands on him then you may keep your secrets." Fawkes let out a reassuring warble and Dumbledore felt his fears ease, however slightly.

Harry made his way down the winding staircase and past the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office, intent on getting to the third floor of the defense tower. So focused on where he was going, Harry did not notice that he had attracted someone's attention. That is, he did not notice until something very hard collided with his ribcage and he went flying across the hall and slammed into the corner he had just been about to turn. Despite the fact that he had heard several things crack in various places on his body, Harry's first though had been to protect the book he had floating after him and while he did not notice it, the book had been suddenly encased in steel and clunked to the floor heavily.

"Finally!" Someone's voice sounded above Harry, who was dazed from shock and the pain emanating from his ribs, leg and wing. His ribs from the kick and impact to the wall, his left leg had hit the corner with enough force to cause his bones to break, and his left wing, its bones already frail and delicate, had been smashed between him and the wall and breaking the bones and tearing muscle. "I've been trying to get you alone for months. I haven't forgotten that you stole my pet rat you filthy little whelp."

Harry looked up, forcing the pain his brain was registering to the back of his mind and saw the Weasley boy who had owned Pettigrew and who did not seem to like him very much for some reason, which his theft did not help in alleviating. Just as Weasley was about to deal another kick to Harry's midsection, Harry's magic roared to his defense without him consciously or unconsciously asking for its assistance. Weasley's leg was suddenly lit on fire and the sounds of bones breaking could be heard once more. The boy screamed in agony as he collapsed backwards and started flailing, trying to douse the magical flames that were burning away his flesh.

_Enough,_ Harry called mentally and with great effort managed to get his magic to douse the magically fueled flames.

_Hurt,_ a voice whined in Harry's head, making him freeze in surprise. It was most definitely not his mental voice; he had spent countless hours, if not days, talking to himself within the confines of his cupboard to be able to tell his mental musings from someone else's voice. This led Harry to one invariable and surprising conclusion. The voice was that of his magic, which had never happened before. _Fix?_

_No,_ Harry quickly responded before his magic could attempt to heal his injuries. _Neither of us knows enough about anatomy or medical magic in order to heal my injuries on our own._

_Help._ His magic decided firmly then.

Harry felt his magic spread out and then connect with what he presumed to be the magic that protected Hogwarts and the latent magic left by the Great Wars. He felt his magic twitch, shift, and then suddenly jerk. There came a loud crack, a startled yelp that was quickly followed by an indignant oomph and the sound of someone landing rather undignified on the floor, and then what felt like the ground rumbling beneath them all. Harry felt it as his magic disconnected with the castle's magic and then faded back into his body where it appeared to pace impatiently, waiting for whomever it had brought to help Harry.

Speaking of which, Harry looked up to see Severus pulling himself up from the ground and dusting off his robes. Confused but grateful, Harry let out a pathetic whine that caused the Potions Master to freeze in the process of straightening his robes and look towards him. With barely a pause, Severus rushed towards him, pulling out his wand, and started casting diagnostic spells to ascertain what was wrong. In the midst of his spell casting, some of which had gratefully relieved Harry's pain, Severus shot off a few beams of light that went straight through the walls. Seconds later, rushed footsteps could be heard coming down the hall from several different directions.

"What happened?" Remus' voice sounded in an urgent pant. Behind him trailed the twins, Neville, and Draco. Seconds after their arrival, the other Heads of House, Dumbledore, and Madam Pomfrey arrived on the scene. Pomfrey gasped in horror before immediately running over to Weasley since he appeared the more severely injured, what with the burn flesh and exposed bone on his right leg, and since Severus appeared to be handling Harry well enough.

"I am not certain," Severus said, pausing in his spells to gently poke and prod at Harry's injuries, electing a few pain filled moans and whines from the feline. "Near as I can tell, Mr. Weasley attacked Namir and Namir retaliated."

"Nearly killed him is more like it," Madam Pomfrey said from her position over Weasley's unconscious form. "Mr. Weasley is extremely lucky that he did not die from the pain this wound caused him. The oddest part is that I can detect no actual spell work and Mr. Potter is still in his animagus form. I would greatly like to know how, exactly, this happened." Harry looked at Madam Pomfrey in a brief moment of panic before Dumbledore spoke up.

"She was informed in case there was an incident where you needed medical attention," Dumbledore explained to everyone, not just Harry since none of them had known the mediwitch had known about Harry's animagus status.

"Harry," Severus said, drawing his attention. "Your wing is fixed. I would prefer to repair your other injuries in your human form as they should all transfer without an issue."

"He was mad at me over what happened with Pettigrew," Harry explained after doing as Severus silently requested and transforming back into his human form. "He caught me off guard by kicking me, which through me into the wall. He said he's been trying to get me alone for months."

"And how did you manage to wound him so severely?" Pomfrey questioned as she levitated the boy into a conjured stretcher. She had obviously stabilized the boy, though his leg still looked mangled.

"Your magic came to your defense didn't it?" Remus questioned softly as Harry hissed in pain when Severus cast a spell to repair his broken arm and ribs. Harry nodded as the twins helped him to his feet.

"Impossible," Minerva said with a deep frown on her face as she looked over her Gryffindor's condition before turning back to the rest. "No one can perform any magic while in their animagus form and many people out there have tried for many years to do so and figure out why. It simply isn't possible. Many have argued that you can't perform any magic as an animagus because you technically don't have your wand and those who can do wandless magic never managed the transformation."

"We hate to disagree Professor," Fred said with a deep scowl on his face as he looked his little brother over.

"But we both can attest to the fact that Harry has performed magic while posing as Namir," George finished with an identical scowl on his face, though his lips twitched slightly at the memory of what Harry had done to prank them.

"As can I," Remus interjected before Minerva could argue against the twins. "The entire school still talks about how Namir pranked the twins before holidays started and I saw him cancel the magic he used to do up the twins' hair in pink bows. I don't know how but Harry's managed the impossible."

"Whether it is impossible or not," Pomfrey interjected, not particularly interested in the argument that Minerva looked ready to start. "It explains why there is magical residue on Mr. Weasley's leg but not spell residue. I shall take him to the Hospital Wing and start a burn treatment as well as a potion regimen to try and regrow his lost muscle. He will also need to undergo Skele-grow for the next day or so; every bone in his leg is completely shattered. Are Mr. Potter's injuries taken care of?"

"Yes," Severus said with an assuring nod. "A few cracked ribs, some bruising, and a fractured forearm. Nothing more serious than that and all of it repaired." Pomfrey nodded before stalking off with Weasley floating next to her.

"Mr. Potter," Minerva said with a disgruntled look on her face. She did not appear angry, just confused and intrigued, likely because of Harry's use of magic in his animagus form. "Do stop by my office some time tomorrow. I am greatly curious about how you have managed to use magic in your animagus form and I would like to discuss it with you." With that she stalked off, likely to owl Weasley's parents.

"What's this?" Neville questioned as he bent down and picked up the steel encased book, which was considerably heavy as it was thicker than Neville and almost half his height.

"That's mine," Harry said as he went over and took the book from the struggling boy, using his magic to lighten the books weight and remove the metal casing, revealing it for the book it was. "Fawkes gave it to me earlier after breakfast. He said it was really old and extremely rare and would help me with my magic."

"I have never heard of such a book," Dumbledore said as he adjusted his glasses and leaned over Harry to read the title. "I wonder where he found it and why he never brought it up before. It certainly looks informative though, judging by its size alone. I would be nervous about there being things in there that you shouldn't be reading but I trust Fawkes' judgment."

"Harry?" A voice called from down the corridor. Everyone turned to see a man standing in the middle of the hallway with an obscene amount of presents floating next to him. He had grey eyes that held a haunting shadow to them, though they sparkled with happiness and his black hair hung just past his shoulders.

"Sirius," Remus warned lightly, quietly telling the man that he needed to tread carefully. "Harry, this is Sirius Black, the man I told you, you freed from prison when you caught Pettigrew. As I said, he was another good friend of your parents and the most excitable one at that. He came to celebrate Christmas with you, though I thought we agreed he would come closer to dinner."

"It's almost four," Sirius defended himself with a childish look at Remus, who looked down at his watch in surprise. "And I thought he wasn't supposed to go out looking like himself."

"There was an incident but everything's fine. Now," Remus said, overriding Sirius' protests before the man could even open his mouth. The wolf gestured towards the assembled kids. "It's Christmas and I say we all go back to my rooms. I'm sure Harry would like to open his presents since he did not get to open them this morning before he took off with Fawkes."

"I have presents?" Harry questioned innocently in surprise as he looked from Sirius to Remus, far too much disbelief and hope in his emerald orbs for anyone's liking. Despite the fact that he had gotten people presents, it was quite obvious that he had not expected to receive any in return.

"Yes, Harry," Remus sighed with a smile, belying none of his sadness at seeing Harry so shocked at hearing he had presents to open. Knowing exactly why Harry was so shocked and hopeful did nothing to help. "Now come on. I want to see your reaction to the present I got you."

Harry smiled, levitated his book next to him with barely a thought, and took Remus' outstretched hand. Everyone else fell in line and made their way back to Remus' quarters. Dumbledore moved up to Sirius and quietly informed him of what had happened, explicitly saying that the Weasley boy had already been punished by Harry's own hand. Sirius, for the most part, took the news in with a blank face. His eyes, however, clearly betrayed his rage at what had almost happened to his godson and how he wanted payback on Harry's behalf.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly, some amusement leaking into his voice. When he looked, Sirius saw the age old twinkle in the man's eye and that he was looking at the enormous pile of present floating next to him. "Perhaps it would be best to reduce the number of presents you give Harry, maybe spread them out between his birthday and Christmas. That way, you do not overwhelm him with so many at once but can also show that you care about him."

"I couldn't decide what to get him and thought that it wouldn't matter if I got him so many that he would love to have them all," Sirius said as he looked towards his mound of presents for Harry. Slowly, he started plucking out a select few to give to Harry. "I had no idea he had never received any gifts before."

"None of us did, Sirius," Dumbledore said sadly. He waved his wand and caused the pile of presents to float next to him instead of Sirius. "In spite of what we have learned of his home life. Now, I will keep these in my office for you and you can pick them up on your way out of the castle."

Sirius nodded solemnly before heading off towards Remus' quarters. Everyone had already started playing or opening presents in Harry's case. The twins were constantly cracking jokes or pulling off advanced looking spells that resulted in a fair amount of awe and amusement. Remus spotted him and came over and started to whisper what had happened when Sirius waved him off with an explanation of Dumbledore before going over to Harry and presenting his presents to the boy, who grew wide eyed at even more presents. He had already opened the ones from everyone else. Remus had got him four plush wrist bands that had small bells on them for Namir and a necklace in the shape of a cat playing with a ball of string. The others had given Harry various things ranging from a chess set to books to a few shirts that he simply adored.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said some time later when dinner had past and everyone was winding down, even going so far as to appear sleepy. When he had the boy's attention he continued. "Would you care to explain to me how exactly I ended up in the hallway with you so suddenly this afternoon?"

"What're you talking about Severus?" Remus questioned in confusion, noticing the slight blush on Harry's cheeks.

"I'm talking about how one moment I was sitting at my desk finishing up some last minute grading I had," Severus said in calm tone, conveying to Harry that he was not upset, merely curious. "And the next I was falling down in the hallway between Mr. Potter and Weasley, as if I had Apparated. There was even a loud crack. I am simply curious as to how that happened."

"Well, it's impossible for you to have Apparated," Sirius remarked in relaxed but slightly mocking tone. "Not even the Dark Lord could have done that."

"My magic brought him," Harry said before anyone could get into any sort of argument or debate. He had sensed, throughout the entire afternoon, that Severus and Sirius, for whatever reason, did not like each other very much.

"You _brought _him?" Sirius questioned in shock and disbelief. He frowned seconds later when Harry shook his head.

"No," Harry said clearly enunciating his words to ensure clarity. "I said my magic brought him. After fending off Weasley, it felt I was hurt and in pain and, rather than try and heal me itself, summoned someone who knew who I was and would be able to help. I had no idea what it was doing at the time until Severus appeared in the hallway."

"That's impossible; your magic can't just act on its own. It has no awareness or freewill." Sirius scoffed at the notion that Harry.

Seconds later, everyone was suppressing giggles when Sirius was suddenly turned into a soft, plushy teddy bear with a very grumpy scowl on his face. The two other adults in the room, while highly amused, were also a little worried. Human transfiguration was often deadly if miss handled. They were also shocked. Something such as this should have been completely impossible for one of Harry's age and study.

"Turn him back," Harry said through his giggle fits. He tried to appear contrite and focused but he wasn't succeeding very well.

_Don't want to,_ came the reply from his magic. It sounded highly offended and extremely put out. _He's mean._

_He's not mean, he's ignorant. _Harry retorted mentally so the others did not think him crazy. _There's a difference. I'm sure he meant no offense. As far as he's aware, what he said is true. _

_Fine._ Harry's magic grumbled petulantly and obligingly returned Sirius back to his normal state with his clothes slightly askew. The man coughed briefly, emitting a puff of cotton.

"That," Sirius said as he put his hands to his head, appearing a little disoriented. "Was weird. I had the strangest urge to clap my hands and go 'mama'."

That turned out to be the wrong thing to say. The entire room, even Severus, burst out into a fit of howling laughter that soon brought tears to their eyes. Sirius scowled at them all but it was ruined quickly by the appearance of a teddy bear that looked identical to him moments before but with a red scarf around its neck that was embroidered with the words 'Merry Christmas' in gold thread. For all that the man had ticked his magic off, Harry's magic, like him, was still very much a child and quickly moved on from the offense. Sirius held the plush toy in shock before smiling in both amusement and affection.

–Scene Break–

Harry sat on Minerva's desk in her office in relative boredom, his tail dangling off the edge and twitching idly. Minerva, ever the academic when it came to Transfiguration, had put Harry through a variety of tests to try and determine how he had managed to perform magic while in his animagus form. She had grown increasingly agitated when all her scans had come back as just slightly above average. His magic levels were above average, obviously since he was the youngest animagus in existence, but they did nothing to explain his achievement. To Harry's confusion, she had yet to actually have him perform any magic.

"Mr. Potter," Minerva said with a sigh as she sat down in her chair and looking highly put out. "I find myself hard pressed to believe your claims of having performed magic while posing as Namir."

Harry rolled his eyes at her, thinking her ridiculous for having overlooked the obvious. With a huff expressing his boredom, Harry stroked his magic and had it spread out around him, which caught Minerva's attention. Having no interest in anything in particular or feeling like giving his magic direction, Harry simply let his magic float about the room to do as it pleased. Several dingy looking things suddenly sparkled like new. Many objects received a color change or complete makeover and much to Minerva's astonishment every item on her desk, with the exception of Harry, suddenly sprung up and started dancing to music only they could hear.

The charade went on for several minutes before his magic got bored as well and put everything back the way it was, with the exception of the things it had cleaned. Harry turned to look at Minerva with a look she had worn several times when she was in her cat form, one of detached boredom mixed with mild amusement. The look on her face was priceless as well with her slacked jaw and bulging eyes. She almost looked on the verge of fainting but she thankfully managed to remain consciousness. Taking pity on the woman, Harry moved over to a chair and changed back into himself.

"You could've saved yourself time and effort if you'd just asked me to show you," Harry said with amusement in his voice and a childlike look on his face.

"I-I-" Minerva stuttered before shaking her head and regaining control over herself and once more looking like the stern Head of Gryffindor. "I was attempting to determine whether or not your magic was any different than anyone else's, regardless of whether or not you could do magic in your animagus form."

"As far as I am aware," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "My magic is no different. It's just free."

Harry was taking a gambit here; he knew that all too well. Fawkes had clearly told him that witches and wizards of today's world had a very strict way of thinking when it came to what magic could and could not do. They were stuck in a rut, as the firebird had said in an annoyed huff. Fawkes feared that they would attempt to get Harry to return to their way of thinking and ruin everything. Harry, while he sympathized with the firebirds concerns, had come to realize that no matter what was said or done, he and his magic would always remain as they were now; friends and companions. So, Harry was attempting to get the people around him used to the fact that he was not bound by their laws of magic.

"Free?" Minerva questioned in confusion.

"By your own words," Harry said as he asked his magic to bring him one of the mice from one of the various cages in the room. The squeaking creature struggled the entire way. "Transfiguration is one of the most complex and difficult forms of magic, so much so that it would be near impossible to perform the craft without a wand."

Minerva opened her mouth to agree but it ended up simply dangling limply from her face as the mouse turned into a snuffbox, something she had yet to get around to teaching the first year students. It then turned into a quill, then pair of glasses, and then various other different objects, all of which should have been completely impossible for a first year student to transfigure before it was finally returned to a mouse that looked extremely disoriented. Harry got up and manually returned the mouse to its cage in an attempt to keep it from becoming even more disoriented.

"When I first came here," Harry continued when he resumed his seat, politely ignoring Minerva's gobsmacked look. "Fawkes helped me set my magic free and taught me how to communicate with it. My magic can actually do quite a lot, more than I expected really, but because of our limited knowledge there are still some things that we're unsure of how to do, which is one of the reasons why it summoned Severus yesterday instead of simply healing my injuries on its own."

"Harry," Minerva said, finally regaining control over her voice and jaw. "What you're proposing and have done is impossible. It breaks every known law of magic, both natural and Ministry law."

"Not law," Harry corrected with a shake of his head. "Restraints. Magic can do anything, it's in the limits of the wielder that restricts things." Minerva still looked extremely doubtful and even looked on the verge of protesting but Harry beat her to the punch, intent on making his point clear. "Look, I've done a lot of reading in my spare time, specifically into transfiguration since I find it rather fascinating." It was a dirty trick, whether it was true or not, but it worked nonetheless. He had gained the woman's full attention and she even had a look of embarrassed pride on her face. "The first of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration is, essentially, that you cannot simply pull food out of thin air, correct?"

"That is correct, Harry," Minerva said with a small smile on her face. She obviously approved of Harry's reading habits.

"Cake?" Harry offered as he held out his hands and a full sized, freshly baked chocolate cake with white icing appeared in his hands, complete with two plates and sets of silverware. Minerva, despite her shock, knew that Harry had not simply summoned it from somewhere else as the cake was still very warm, enough so that the icing was starting to ooze off the side. Thankfully there was a plate underneath the cake otherwise she probably would have had a fit over getting icing all over her desk. "Believe me now?"

"I might be tempted to if this tastes as good as it smells and looks," Minerva cracked with a slight smile even though she still looked completely and utterly shocked. Harry snickered.


End file.
